Insider Tags Frontrunner in Knicks' Coach Search

"Jason Kidd was the No. 1 target," Isola said in a Monday X post. "Until the Knicks name a coach you can’t entirely rule him out. But Mike Brown is emerging as the front runner."

Brown spent the last two-plus seasons at the helm of the Sacramento Kings before his December firing at 13-18. He has also led the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers, amassing a 454-304 record in 11 seasons as a boss. Per Knicks Fan TV, Brown is one of two names (along with former Memphis Grizzlies leader Taylor Jenkins) to land a second round of interviews with New York management.

"You hate to see it," Thibodeau said of Brown's firing, per Fox Sports. "You know, it's part of what we go through. Mike's a terrific person and a great coach. It's unfortunate."

The 55-year-old, like Thibodeau before him, has two official Coach of the Year titles to his name, winning one each with Cleveland (2009) and Sacramento (2023). That the second-largest gap between such titles, behind only former Knicks leader Hubie Brown.

Isola's report in favor of Brown's hire, however, still doesn't fully snuff out the idea of Kidd coming back to New York after spending the final tour of a Hall of Fame playing career in Manhattan. The metropolitan infatuation with Kidd hardly needs another series of documenting, as their interest reportedly continues to persist despite his current employers, the Dallas Mavericks, repeatedly denying the idea.

The latest denial came from the mouth of Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison, who addressed such rumors last week after his team named Cooper Flagg the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.

"Still out there about J-Kidd? I thought I shut them down," Harrison said in video from Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News. "Yes, he will be the coach next year."