The New York Knicks will undergo an unexpected coaching search after firing Tom Thibodeau on Tuesday. Frank Isola suggested a familiar face already employed elsewhere.
Three days after getting eliminated from their first Eastern Conference Finals appearance in 25 years, the Knicks stunned NBA fans by dismissing Thibodeau. They had gone seven seasons without a playoff appearance under six different head coaches before going 250-197 (playoffs included) under Thibodeau from 2020 to 2025.
The Knicks now must find a way to improve on the two-time Coach of the Year. Isola, a former Knicks writer for the New York Daily News, wondered if they could turn to an ex-player.
“Jason Kidd?” Isola asked on social media. “That’s what I think could happen.”
Kidd ended his Hall of Fame career with the Knicks in 2012-13. They won 54 games that season, their highest tally of the 21st century. New York went a decade without hitting 50 wins again before going 50-32 in 2023-24 and 51-31 in Thibodeau’s final season.
Following retirement, Kidd immediately landed a head coaching job with the Brooklyn Nets. A roster featuring Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce, and Kevin Garnett went 44-38 in his lone season.
The Milwaukee Bucks posted a .478 winning percentage in Kidd’s three-and-a-half-year tenure before he went to the Los Angeles Lakers as an assistant. He achieved his greatest coaching success when leading the Dallas Mavericks to the NBA Finals last year.
There’s one pesky roadblock to Isola’s suggestion: Kidd still works for the Mavericks. Although they followed a Western Conference title by missing the playoffs, nobody can blame Kidd for losing Luka Doncic to a head-scratching trade and Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis to injuries.
If he stays in Dallas, Kidd will have the chance to coach presumptive No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg. But perhaps the 52-year-old is on New York’s radar.
“Our organization is singularly focused on winning a championship for our fans,” Knicks team president Leon Rose said in a statement Tuesday. “This pursuit led us to the difficult decision to inform Tom Thibodeau that we’ve decided to move in another direction.”
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