The New York Knicks tried to get permission to speak with numerous current head coaches after they fired Tom Thibodeau. One of those was Minnesota Timberwolves head man, Chris Finch. Minnesota did not grant the Knicks the opportunity to speak with him (neither did the other teams where NY wanted to speak to their head coach about their opening). The Knicks also interviewed Minnesota’s lead assistant, Micah Nori, for their head coaching position. Once again, they have gone to the Timberwolves for permission to speak to yet another one of their coaches, Pablo Prigioni.
Knicks To Interview Former Team Fan Favorite For Assistant Coach
Pablo Prigioni Set To Interview With Knicks To Become An Assistant
The Knicks, of course, have since filled their head coaching vacancy. They have hired Mike Brown, former head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers, and Sacramento Kings. With high expectations for the upcoming season, New York and Brown are looking to fill the rest of his staff.
As per Ian Begley of SNY, the Knicks have asked the Timberwolves for permission to talk to Pablo Prigioni about joining Brown’s assistant coaching ranks. Unlike with Finch (and many others), they have been told that they are allowed to do so.
Knicks asked for and received permission to speak with MIN assistant Pablo Prigioni for openings on Mike Brown’s staff. Prigioni, a key player on 2012-13 Knicks, is heavily involved in MIN’s offense under Chris Finch: https://t.co/b1YmL06wej
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) July 22, 2025
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Now 48 years old, Prigioni has been an assistant coach with the Timberwolves for the last six seasons. He has been tasked to be an offensive coach for Minnesota. The Argentinian has not only been a part of Finch’s staff during his entire head coaching tenure, Prigioni also was an assistant under Ryan Saunders.
Prior to that, Prigioni spent a brief time as an assistant coach with the Brooklyn Nets.
Former Player For The Team
Knicks fans are certain familiar with Prigioni. That’s because he used to play for the Knicks. His NBA debut came during the 2012-13 season when he was already 35 years old (turned 36 towards the end of that season).
That year, New York had a rather successful team. They finished 54-28, good for the second-best record in the Eastern Conference. That year, Prigioni started 28 games during the regular season and 10 of his 11 postseason appearances. He was a solid three-point shooter (albeit on low volume) and a pesky defender. The 6-foot-3 point guard became known for sneaking up on players in the backcourt and stealing inbounds passes.
Prigioni would go on to appear in another 66 games, making 27 starts in 2013-14. After playing in 43 contests for New York in 2014-15, he was traded to the Houston Rockets in February of 2015. Affectionately called ‘Priggy Smalls’ by the Knicks faithful, he connected on 41.4% of his three-point tries while with New York. His last NBA season as a player came in 2015-16 with the Los Angeles Clippers.
Now, a little more than a decade later, Prigioni may once again be employed by the New York Knicks. Being he has been working with the Timberwolves, ‘Priggy Smalls’ has history with Karl-Anthony Towns.
Photo credit: © Brad Penner-Imagn Images
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