The New York Knicks’ frenzied head coaching search is now believed to include Mike Brown and Taylor Jenkins. This is according to The Athletic’s Sam Amick.
Brown was last with the Sacramento Kings before being fired this season. Jenkins was fired late into the season by the Memphis Grizzlies. Brown previously interviewed with the Knicks in 2020 when Tom Thibodeau was ultimately selected.
New York is looking to improve upon an Eastern Conference Finals appearance in these playoffs.
The decision to fire Thibodeau came quickly but the coaching search since has done little to inspire. There appears to have been no clear plan as far as possible replacements are concerned.
Interviews were sought with Chicago’s Billy Donovan, Houston’s Ime Udoka, Minnesota’s Chris Finch, Atlanta’s Quin Snyder, and Dallas’s Jason Kidd. All those requests were denied.
It makes sense then that the Knicks have now shifted focus to coaches who are currently unemployed. Former Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone was rumored as a possible candidate early but nothing has developed since.
How Bad Does This Knicks’ Head Coach Search Look?
Objectively, it looks pretty bad. One would assume if the Knicks were clear in their thinking that Thibodeau wasn’t the right man well before the playoffs then they would have began looking at other options a lot before the last couple weeks.
Everything that has transpired during this time points to a front office that was extremely unprepared. It’s also possible that they were arrogant enough to think that they wouldn’t get denied interview opportunities as the Knicks.
Furthermore, if advancing to the NBA Finals is the next step then it’s a bit puzzling to arrive at Brown and Jenkins as the top candidates. Yes, Brown has made a trip to the NBA Finals with the Cleveland Cavaliers but that was largely down to LeBron James being absolutely sensational.
Jenkins did not look well equipped for playoff success during his time with the Grizzlies, either.
