New York Knicks’ Head Coaching Rejections Revealed by NBA Insider

“The one word I keep thinking about is unorthodox,” Charania said. “People around the league I talk to, they haven’t seen anything quite like this.

“There’s always stuff that happens behind the scenes… Teams are — I’m not gonna say tampering, but teams are always having conversations about things. But to do it in way where you’re reaching out to teams, requesting permission, teams with current head coaches. They’ve been denied by five teams this week. There’s a 24-hour stretch where they were rejected four times by teams.

“Some of the scenarios that I heard was teams would just hang up. Some would say no—and then hang up. In other situations, there was profanity involved. You know—some literal ‘F— no’ responses.”

Charania said the Knicks were hoping to acquire Billy Donovan from the Bulls since he had one year left in his deal. However, there have been reports that Donovan and the team are working on a potential contract extension.

The New York Knicks plan to meet with former head coaches

Amid the New York Knicks’ head coaching search, the management finally has a chance to interview a potential replacement. On Friday, Charania reported that the Knicks are planning to meet with former head coaches Taylor Jenkins and Mike Brown.

“The New York Knicks are planning to meet with ex-Memphis Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins and former Sacramento Kings coach Mike Brown next week for their head coaching job, sources tell ESPN. First formal interviews for the Knicks vacancy, and more could come,” the insider reported.

Both head coaches were fired during the middle of the 2024-25 campaign by their respective teams. With their experience, the Knicks hope one of them could lead the team to a championship.