Report: Knicks Interested In Timberwolves Coach Chris Finch

According to Ian Begley of SNY, the New York Knicks are interested in Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch.

The Knicks need a new coach after firing Tom Thibodeau. 

“Houston’s Ime Udoka, Minnesota’s Chris Finch, and Dallas’ Jason Kidd are among the coaches currently under contract who the Knicks have degrees of interest in,” Begley said. 

Finch has coached the Timberwolves to back-to-back appearances in the Western Conference Finals.

Minnesota lost to the Dallas Mavericks in the 2024 conference finals in five games and fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder in this year’s conference finals in five games. 

Finch is 209-160 in the regular season and 21-21 in the playoffs with the Timberwolves. 

According to Begley, player input was a factor in the Knicks’ decision to fire Thibodeau, who won the 2021 Coach of the Year Award with New York.

New York president Leon Rose and owner James Dolan met with players and heard their complaints before firing Thibodeau.

“Our organization is singularly focused on winning a championship for our fans,” Rose said in a statement. “This pursuit led us to the decision to inform Tom Thibodeau that we’ve decided to move in another direction. We can’t thank Tom enough for pouring his heart and soul into each and every day of being the New York Knicks head coach.

“Ultimately, we made the decision we feel is best for our organization moving forward. Tom will always be part of our Knicks family and we truly wish him nothing but the best in the future.”

Thibodeau has coached the Chicago Bulls, Timberwolves and Knicks. He has a .579 career win percentage as a head coach, the highest by any coach without a Finals appearance in NBA history (minimum 300 games coached), according to ESPN Research.

Thibodeau joined the Knicks in 2020. He went 226-174 in the regular season and 24-23 in the playoffs.