Knicks Could Still Steal 2 Coaches Whose Teams Refused Interviews: Report

The rejections represented an embarrassing moment for a team that had largely steered clear of such things under the stewardship of team president Leon Rose, who first hired Thibodeau in 2020. Thibodeau brought New York to four playoff berths in five years, winning at least one series across three of those runs. 

New York's Eastern Conference Finals appearance this spring was the furthest the team had advanced since 2000. That year, the Knicks were also vanquished by the Finals-bound Pacers.

Now, Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps of ESPN have revealed that the Knicks' attempts to pry away a current coach from another squad (typically achieved through trade) may not be dead just yet.

"So what happens now? For starters, sources said, there's some belief that things could change in the cases of Kidd in Dallas and Donovan in Chicago," Windhorst and Bontemps reveal. "Kidd has a long history of fiery departures from prior stops -- including in 2014, when he wound up getting permission to leave the Brooklyn Nets to join the Bucks." 

As Windhorst and Bontemps note, Kidd spent his 20th and final pro season as a player, 2012-13, with New York. The Hall of Famer helped the Knicks secure the No. 2 seed in the East and make the second round of the playoffs — where they lost to, you guessed it, the Pacers. 

Kidd also coached the Knicks' best player, two-time All-NBA guard Jalen Brunson, when Brunson was still with the Mavericks. The 6-foot-2 Villanova product left for New York as a free agent in 2022.

New York's interest in Kidd is understandable. When Luka Doncic was still in Dallas, Kidd totally transformed the club into a near-perennial contender, guiding the Mavericks to two Western Conference Finals in three seasons, as well as one NBA Finals berth.

Donovan, however, is more puzzling. 

Although he enjoyed some success with the Oklahoma City Thunder, his Chicago tenure has been decidedly less inspiring. He holds a 195-205 overall record with the Bulls during his five years in charge, and has led the club to just one playoff appearance — a five-game first round exit in 2022 — during that span. Donovan has a predilection to play guards out of position in frontcourt roles, leading to frequent injuries and defensive lapses.