What’s the next step in the Knicks non-plan plan?
There is an ancient saying that goes, “The grass isn’t always greener on the other side.”
This post isn’t to serve as a debate over whether the Thibs firing was a mistake. That is done and over with. But Knicks GM Leon Rose had to have had a plan in place when he made that move, right? As of about an hour ago, that plan appears to have struck out for the third time, with the Mavericks becoming the latest team to deny the Knicks permission to interview their head coach for the vacant position.
ESPN’s Shams Charania was the first to report less than an hour ago that the Mavericks firmly denied the Knicks the opportunity to interview head coach and former Knick, Jason Kidd.
The New York Knicks requested permission Wednesday morning to speak to Mavericks coach Jason Kidd – and Dallas gave a firm rejection, sources tell ESPN. Knicks have been denied now on Kidd, Minnesota’s Chris Finch and Houston’s Ime Udoka.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 11, 2025
Prior to getting denied by the Mavericks, the Knicks were also denied by the Houston Rockets to interview Ime Udoka, and by the Minnesota Timberwolves to interview Chris Finch.
With the top three coaching options no longer available and it’s worth noting that each would have required the Knicks to give up draft picks as compensation, something the other teams clearly didn’t value enough to part ways with their current head coaches, the Knicks need to go back to ground zero.
There are still great options available which include the three Mike’s: Budenholzer, Brown, and Malone. But at this point all three of those former Coach of Year winners were never on the top of the Knicks list, but now must be considered.
Amid all the coaching speculation, there’s also the looming question of Rick Brunson’s future. His name has surfaced in a few head coaching conversations, though most would agree he’s not ready for that leap. But what happens if the new head coach decides not to retain him on staff? That scenario could create friction with the Knicks’ captain, who took less money last offseason in pursuit of a championship, and who, for the first time in his Knicks tenure, will be playing under a new head coach without the guarantee his father will still be by his side.
The wrong decision could lead to a very slippery slope for a team that just competed in the Eastern Conference, which leads me back to my original statement that the grass may not always be greener on the other side.