This week’s NBA rumor mill heavily features the Knicks. After firing head coach Tom Thibodeau, the franchise’s search for a replacement has left even reporters wondering what the process is.
Team president Leon Rose said after firing Thibodeau that the team is “singularly focused on winning.” A focus that led them to fire their coach. But almost a full week later, there is no new head coach in place.
The NBA landscape still has questions. Why did the team move on? How did that ‘singular focus’ inspire firing a coach that led the team to its first Conference Finals in 25 years?
Simply put, the organization believes that a different coach gives them a greater chance of success. Going into this past season, despite the blockbuster moves for big-name stars, the Knicks did not seem to believe that their ‘championship window’ was open just yet. Moving on from Thibodeau after a Conference Finals appearance signals that they now see that window as being open.
Not having an immediate successor in place within two weeks of the season ending isn’t an issue. It’s an indication that the franchise felt that 100 regular-season and playoff games were enough of a sample size to influence this decision. And that searching for a new coach while the team was actively competing in the Eastern Conference Finals would likely not have gone well.
The Knicks are taking a ‘no stone unturned’ approach to finding next coach
The Knicks’ front office is unique. Leon Rose and company turned around the franchise in five years without ever tanking. It took everything from trading for Australian coaches to loopholes in the new CBA to construct the team’s roster.
The process, while unorthodox, boils down to the team having things it would like to accomplish in mind. And, then, trying to find a way to do them. It may not work. Statistically, it probably won’t work. But, in reality, there’s only one surefire way for a team to find out if something is possible. It’s to try it.
It was first reported last Wednesday that the Knicks have an interest in Chris Finch. The Athletic’s Jon Krawcynzski reported two days later that he’d be “surprised if anything came of it.” But if the organization most covets Finch, why shouldn’t they find out the hard way?
If the Knicks compiled a list of top candidates regardless of feasibility, wouldn’t most already coach at the highest level? The team is justified in finding out whether or not it’s possible to bring those candidates to New York.
After it was initially reported that the Knicks had interest in Jason Kidd, Marc Stein reported that his sources believe the Mavericks will refuse to grant the Knicks permission to meet with him.
Brian Windhorst later reported that there’s mutual interest between Kidd and the Knicks.
The extent to which the Mavericks and Knicks are negotiating through the media is unknown. But there’s a saying about noticing lots of smoke somewhere and what might be causing it.
The Knicks have more candidates to sift through if nothing works out with those at the top. Sources familiar with the situation tell ClutchPoints that the coaching search will include coaches at the collegiate level.
New York can’t say it conducted a full and comprehensive search without actually doing the searching.
The team needs to fully and comprehensively explore all of its potential options to later claim that the process was comprehensive. Once they have made a hire, how else would they truly know that they did the best they could?
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