Former Hornets Coach Developing Into a Knicks Dark Horse

The NBA Finals wrapped up over the weekend to officially signal the start of the NBA's official offseason, but the New York Knicks have been hard at work.

Their summer started a few weeks back when they fell short of their own Finals berth, slipping to the Indiana Pacers in a dramatic Eastern Conference Finals showdown. Despite their best finish to a season in 25 years and a playoff run with some real moments attached, they wasted no time in firing head coach Tom Thibodeau.

New York soon got to work on some truly bizarre attempts at stealing a coach away from one of its peers around the league, making calls to various teams to inquire about the availability of their locker room leaders.

They've calmed down, reportedly settling on former head coaches Taylor Jenkins and Mike Brown as early favorites to take up the post, but that doesn't mean they're done adding names to the hat.

James Edwards III of The Athletic claims that former Charlotte Hornets head coach James Borrego could develop into another candidate to fill in for Thibodeau, with his name reportedly having been "tossed around" as another potential interview.

He spent four seasons at the helm in Charlotte, posting a 45.8% winning percentage in 301 games as the Hornets' top coach. His names been constantly thrown around as a veteran presence looking for another shot since being fired in 2022, having made a quiet return to the bench in New Orleans two seasons ago.

Borrego has some management ties to Knicks president Leon Rose, Edwards reported, an important note when discussing a team that's as known for its relationship hires as any around the league. His analytics-driven approach could be what New York's looking for, having grown tired of Thibodeau's rigid principles and unwillingness to adapt.

Jenkins and Brown remain two popular picks to take the job upon a potential offer, while Jason Kidd continues lurking as a name to watch should he and the Dallas Mavericks split, but the Knicks are far from finished with their homework.