Latest news with #coachingsearch
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
NBA insider reveals Mike Brown's top competitor before landing Knicks job
The New York Knicks finally found their head coach, but there were some other strong candidates in the mix. Over the past few weeks, the Knicks' early offseason headlines were dominated by their strange coaching search. It was already seen as strange that the Knicks would fire Tom Thibodeau after he led the franchise to its first conference finals in 25 years. Advertisement However, it only got more complex as the Knicks' search for a new bench boss included trying to poach head coaches already employed by another team. Unsurprisingly, that strategy led the Knicks nowhere. Eventually, the Knicks went with a more traditional route and chose Mike Brown as their next coach. Brown won Coach of the Year with the Sacramento Kings in 2023 and could help take New York to the next level. While the days leading up to his hiring featured plenty of smoke about a potential deal, SNY's Ian Begley recently gave some clarity on what might have been holding up the Knicks' decision. Begley reported that while the Knicks interviewed a few candidates besides Brown, Micah Nori made the strongest impression of the runners-up. Nori has been an assistant for the Minnesota Timberwolves for the past few years and became well-known as he took over as the team's leader on the bench in the 2024 playoffs after Chris Finch suffered an injury. Advertisement Nori's thoughts on workload/player production were the leading factor in his strong impression with the Knicks, Begley wrote. While Nori's chances of getting the job were always going to be a long shot, his successful interview with the Knicks might have set him up for a different head coaching position in the near future.
Daily Mail
01-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
NBA fans divided as legendary female coach is considered by the New York Knicks
As the New York Knicks ' coaching search continues to drag on in an uncertain direction, the team has considered one unorthodox option which has fans split. After reaching the team's first Eastern Conference Finals in 25 years, the Knicks fired head coach Tom Thibodeau. The team considered multiple coaches for the position, but still have not inked a deal with anyone - leading to some out-of-the-box considerations. This includes one of the top coaches in all of college basketball, but not one that has led a men's team. According to the New York Post, the Knicks have reached out to University of South Carolina women's basketball coach Dawn Staley. Staley's a very successful coach - having won three NCAA titles, nine conference tournament titles, and being named Coach of the Year four times. It's unclear if the discussion that the Knicks had with Staley was a formal interview or more to gague interest. This isn't the first time Staley's been considered for the position: she met with the Portland Trail Blazers regarding their vacancy back in 2021. South Carolina's athletic director, Jeremiah Donati, confirmed the Knicks spoke to Staley - telling On3, 'If I were them, I would have called her too.' Staley is a member of the Basketball Hall-of-Fame for her accomplishments as a player. She won three Olympic Gold Medals with Team USA from 1996-2004 and was a six-time WNBA All Star. Still, there were split reactions to the news. On one hand, some fans believed that bringing in a highly successful basketball coaching legend would be good for the Knicks. 'Imagine seeing everything Dawn Staley has done and being mad she's in consideration for your head coaching position. She's had more success this decade than the Knicks have had as a franchise,' read one comment on X. One Knicks fan account said, 'There's no non-sexist reason to be upset the Knicks reached out to Dawn Staley The Knicks need a coach and she's a good coach. Would it be surprising? Yes. Do I expect them to hire her? No. Should they speak with as wide a net possible of good coaches? Yes.' On the other, there were plenty of comments - many of which leaned into sexism - suggesting she shouldn't be considered. One comment said, 'Knicks are a playoff team trying to win has never coached the Men's is entirely different than the Women's game. Not saying she couldn't eventually be a Men's she needs to start at the college level and work her way up. Come on now. 'Is this some sort of joke? Hopefully this 'approach' is because of her work at SC Gamecocks rather than ticking some DEI boxes. Given it's woke NY, this could be for any reason. Whether she can step up so many levels from the @WNBA to the real deal @NBA is hard to tell,' read another comment. The Knicks have formally interviewed four candidates for the vacancy: Mike Brown, Taylor Jenkins, Micah Nori, and James Borrego. Brown is reportedly being brought back for a second interview.
Yahoo
29-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Basketball Fans React To Dawn Staley, New York Knicks Rumor
Basketball Fans React To Dawn Staley, New York Knicks Rumor originally appeared on The Spun. As the New York Knicks continue their coaching search, the team is allegedly taking an interesting detour involving South Carolina head women's basketball coach Dawn Staley. Advertisement It was the popular Knicks news account Knicks Fan TV that reported on Saturday that Staley is one of several candidates that the team has reached out to regarding their coaching position. "Knicks News: According to league sources, both Taylor Jenkins and Mike Brown are headed for a second round of interviews. Micah Nori is still being considered. The Knicks have also reached out to South Carolina HC Dawn Staley about the job," the outlet reported. Staley ranks among the greatest women's basketball players and coaches of all-time. As head coach of South Carolina, she has won three national titles and has recently led the Gamecocks to five straight Final Four appearances. Advertisement But despite her stellar resume in women's basketball, the reaction to this report has been mixed at best. Some fans believe that the Knicks are trying to make a bold, splashy hire while others believe that the team's attempt to reach out to Staley is just them having no idea what they're doing at all. "Lmao ok this run is over. Leon wants out it's clear. I will never witness a championship in my life," one user remarked. "Can Adam Silver force Jim Dolan to sell the team?" another asked. "Love Staley but that's really unserious at this point in the game," wrote another. "Plz no. We don't need a woman HC. I'm not trying to be the laughing stock of the league when (expletive) hits the fan." Advertisement "Even considering Dawn Staley has me ill." COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA - DECEMBER 11: Head coach Dawn Staley of the South Carolina Gamecocks looks on in the second quarter during their game against the Liberty Lady Flames at Colonial Life Arena on December 11, 2022 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by)"If there is ever a female Head Coach in the NBA the Knicks are not the team to start that trend." "It's sad how desperate they are. Terrible job by Dolan over stepping and getting rid of tibs. He has to learn you can't have the players call the shots. It never works. They will waste the prime of JB and some others and hope and pray in another 3 or 4 years #Knicks." That's a lot of negativity being directed at the Knicks over the Staley rumor. The Knicks haven't made any decisions yet and it's not even clear if the interest is mutual. But if there was ever a women's basketball coach qualified to coach in the NBA, it would probably be Staley. Advertisement Related: Dawn Staley Is Being Mentioned For NBA Coaching Job Basketball Fans React To Dawn Staley, New York Knicks Rumor first appeared on The Spun on Jun 28, 2025 This story was originally reported by The Spun on Jun 28, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
28-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Major Update in New York Knicks' Head Coaching Search Emerges
Major Update in New York Knicks' Head Coaching Search Emerges originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The New York Knicks have to be pretty used to rejection by now. The team has attempted to contact several NBA teams to interview their coaches and have been rejected time and time again. Advertisement The Knicks requested to interview four active NBA head coaches: Jason Kidd, Chris Finch, Ime Udoka, and Quin Snyder. The Dallas Mavericks, Minnesota Timberwolves, Houston Rockets, and Atlanta Hawks all told New York to kick rocks. After all of those interview requests were rejected, the Knicks have started to fixate on names that do not require the approval of another team. Two coaches, in particular, have been linked to New York recently. New York Knicks' Karl-Anthony Towns with Jalen Brunson in a game against the Memphis Grizzlies at Thomas-Imagn Images According to James L. Edwards III of The Athletic, Taylor Jenkins and Mike Brown will both be interviewing for the Knicks' head coaching vacancy next week. They are considered the 'leading candidates.' Advertisement These should be two coaches that NBA fans are largely familiar with. The former of the two will be the one more fresh in everyone's minds. Jenkins was unexpectedly fired by the Memphis Grizzlies before the conclusions of their 2024-25 NBA season. The Grizzlies opted to give the reins to Tuomas Iisalo instead, who went from the interim coach to the full-time replacement. Jenkins has a 250-214 coaching record in the regular season during his team as the lead bench boss. The former Grizzlies coach enjoyed two 50-win seasons and three trips to the postseason with Memphis. The Grizzlies never quite delivered playoff success during Jenkins' time in Memphis. The Knicks coaching candidate has a 9-14 record in the postseason. Advertisement Brown is notable for his head coaching stints with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers, and Sacramento Kings. He was also fired in the 2024-25 NBA season, putting an end to his time in Sacramento. Both names here bring familiarity. However, it is easily debatable if either represents a significant upgrade over recently-fired Tom Thibodeau. Related: Insider Gets Honest About Knicks, Kevin Durant Trade Rumors Related: Knicks Could Make Big Decision After Giannis Antetokounmpo Update This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 14, 2025, where it first appeared.
New York Times
23-06-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Knicks head coach search: Could a new name enter the conversation?
The NBA Draft and free agency will take place within the next week, and the New York Knicks are still going through the process of finding a new head coach. When New York fired Tom Thibodeau close to three weeks ago, the franchise set out to do an extensive search for his replacement. The Knicks have the NBA's only head coaching vacancy with no competition in the market. Advertisement The process reached a new stage last week, when New York held interviews with former Memphis Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins and former Sacramento Kings head coach Mike Brown. Both candidates interviewed over multiple days and were impressive, per league sources. The 40-year-old Jenkins was fired by the Grizzlies just before the start of the playoffs after, essentially, six full seasons manning the sideline and posting a 250-214 record. Brown was fired by the Kings early in the regular season. Aside from his time in Sacramento, he's been a head coach for both the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Los Angeles Lakers. He was also an assistant on Steve Kerr's Golden State Warriors staff. Jenkins and Brown appear to be the front-runners as of now. However, New York has tossed around the idea of speaking with James Borrego for its vacancy, per league sources. Borrego, a CAA client, is known around the league for his offensive creativity and analytics-forward approach. Borrego spent last season as an assistant coach on Willie Green's staff in New Orleans and was last a head coach for the Charlotte Hornets from 2018-22. His record in those four seasons doesn't pop off the screen, but Borrego led the struggling franchise to a 43-win season just before he was let go. Charlotte has won 40-plus games during the regular season just four times since 2005, which includes Borrego's final year in charge. Something else to continue to monitor is the Knicks' interest in Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd. While a long shot to join New York, Kidd — who is under contract for two more years and the Mavericks, per league sources, have shown no interest to this point in allowing their coach to leave — still hasn't agreed to an extension like other currently-employed head coaches who the Knicks showed interest in during the first stage of their search. New York reached out to Houston to speak with Ime Udoka and to Chicago to speak with Billy Donovan. Udoka agreed to an extension with the Rockets last week, league sources told The Athletic. And according to multiple reports, the Bulls and Billy Donovan are in the process of working on a contract extension. Advertisement There has been nothing regarding Kidd and an extension in Dallas to this point. Furthermore, Dallas did not extend the contracts of Kidd's assistant coaches after the franchise made it to the Western Conference finals last year. Kidd is going to lose his longtime assistant Sean Sweeney to the San Antonio Spurs, league sources confirm to The Athletic. Other top Mavericks assistants, Jared Dudley and God Shammgod, have received interest from rival ballclubs, per league sources, and have contracts that expire on June 30, which is also when Sweeney's deal is up. These all factor into why the Knicks-Kidd chatter won't fully go away. While it's not ideal, the Knicks don't necessarily need a head coach by Wednesday's NBA Draft. New York holds the No. 50 pick. Having a head coach in place by the start of free-agency negotiations next week would be beneficial for the Knicks. However, until further notice, not having one signals that the franchise could be keeping the core of its roster intact. With all that said, New York can continue to search for a Thibodeau replacement at its own pace. — Fred Katz contributed to this story. (Photo of James Borrego: Sean Gardner / Getty Images)
