The Knicks Have Reportedly Been Denied Permission To Interview Jason Kidd, Ime Udoka, AND Chris Finch For Their Open Head Coaching Position
So there it is! The Knicks have officially struck out on the three head coaches they were looking to interview that are still under contract with other NBA teams.
I personally was horrified at the thought of Jason Kidd coaching the Knicks, but was ready to talk my dumb brain into it since Giannis once called him a genius.
I was hoping with all my heart that Ime Udoka would somehow miraculously get the green light to take the interview since I think he's easily a Top 5 coach in the league. But I am happy I don't have to root for a guy who broke sweet Debbie's heart in real life.
Chris Finch was someone I would've been thrilled with as well fresh off two Conference Finals, but I didn't get my hopes up since the T'Wolves seem to be in the endgame with their current core for contending for a championship and they aren't going to let their coach leave now that they won't have Glen Taylor fucking things up in the foreseeable future.
Now I will fully admit I am writing these blogs with while wearing Leon Rose-colored glasses considering he turned the Knicks from a smoldering dumpster fire that watched superstars willingly sign with the NETS over a chance to become New York legends with the Knicks by making shrewd moves and slowly building an actually respectable franchise on the court as well as off of it. Which is why I will give him the benefit of the doubt for firing the most successful coach the Knicks have had in a quarter century and then instantly getting stonewalled from interviewing three of his potential replacements. It would've been cool to hire one of these guys, no matter how unlikely it would've been to get permission to sit them down for a nice steak dinner in midtown Manhattan. But I appreciate the front office taking a shot and seeing if James Dolan's big fat wallet could wiggle one of them loose.
It sucks that these three options are off the table, but there are roughly another 8.2 billion people on the planet the Knicks can interview for the job and none of them will likely need permission like those three. Part of me would've loved having Thibs' replacement instantly hired since it meant the front office had a plan lined up for weeks if not months. But part of me loves the Knicks taking their time and making sure no stone goes unturned before they make the hire considering the next coach's floor in fans' mind with be an NBA Finals appearance, so they obviously have to absolutely NAIL this hiring in every aspect. Doubly so since Thibs made me cry with his goodbye letter to the Knicks players and fans that he ran in the NY Times today.
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As I wipe away my tears, I realized I buried the lede since the real news from this story is that Mike Francesa scooped Shams on Finch's interview being declined last night.
That's why they call him Numbah One folks! Shams has devoted his entire existence to breaking NBA news before everyone else but even he couldn't beat a retired radio host to the punch on a nugget about the biggest job opening in sports. That's how you know this entire job search has gone crazy even before the #KnicksForClicks aggregators sink their teeth into anything.
So now we wait as Leon and Wes to move in silence like they always do. The Thibs firing was a tough decision that received a bunch of public backlash, but that was also the case when they traded Immanuel Quickley, moved Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo the night before training camp, and oh yeah signed Jalen Brunson to a $100+ million contract. The front office didn't miss with any of those moves and should be given the benefit of the doubt on what they do next in this very scarred Knicks fan's opinion.
P.S. This made me laugh