New York Knicks coaching candidates
The New York Knicks shocked many fans on Tuesday June 3rd when they opted to relieve head coach Tom Thibodeau of his duties following the team's elimination at the hands of the Indiana Pacers in 6 games.
Naturally before the Knicks can look to improve the roster, they need to know who is going to be running this team. Of course in a market as big as New York whoever holds the reins is going to be heavily scrutinized for underperforming, but will be just as heavily praised for succeeding.
What makes this job even more of a risk for any potential candidates is the massive pressure. The New York pressure alone is a lot to handle, but this is a Knicks team who has gotten the taste of a conference finals, and has no interest in not going back. So unfortunately most see this job as a "Finals or bust" situation, considering anything less than a finals trip shows no improvement from this past season. Some names have already dropped from the possibility, including Brunson, Hart, and Bridges Villanova coach Jay Wright.
Who could be willing to take on this immense task? Let's see who are the top coaching candidates for the New York Knicks.
Jason Kidd
I know this is a pretty wild first name to throw out there. But Kidd has a winning record as a head coach and was obviously an incredibly smart player. However, there's another big reason the Knicks have reached out to Dallas inquiring about their head coach. Jason Kidd was a former head coach with the Milwaukee Bucks, and coached the former MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, whom the Knicks are prepared to make a "tsunami level offer" for. Could Kidd be the last piece in luring Giannis to the big apple? Certainly seems like a possibility.
Johnnie Bryant
The Cavaliers assistant seemed like he was the perfect choice to step up and be Thib's successor after New York. Until he made a lateral move to follow good friend Donovan Mitchell to Cleveland. With Cleveland's disappointing end to the season, and a prime opening in New York, this could be Johnnie's best chance at a head coaching gig with a team that has NBA finals potential.
Michael Malone
Malone currently sits as the betting favorite for the Knicks head coaching job and was born in Queens. He did also get his first job as a coach in New York in 2003 and his dad was an assistant with the Knicks under Stan Van Gundy. Don't forget he is also an NBA champion. However his style of coaching is so similar to Thibs' that this move really doesn't make much sense, it wouldn't change very much about the culture in New York, and would likely lead to a very similar outcome to next season.vv
Some other names thrown around include former Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins, Miami Heat assistant Chris Quinn, former Bucks and Suns coach Mike Budenholzer, plus many more. I'd expect an answer as to who the next coach is to come relatively soon, considering I don't see the team making any roster moves without knowing who the next head coach will be.
