The New York Knicks and Tom Thibodeau continue to appear destined for one another, but for the second consecutive year, the Knicks' crosstown rivals could thwart the team's offseason plans.
According to Marc Berman of The New York Post, the Knicks, Brooklyn Nets and Houston Rockets all have strong interest in Thibodeau, while the Knicks will get the first opportunity to woo him as they will not be competing in the playoffs if and when the NBA season resumes.
But while Thibodeau and the Knicks have long been linked to one another, the Nets should not be underestimated.
Per Berman, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving — who both spurned the Knicks in free agency in favor of the Nets last summer — both like and respect Thibodeau, with one source going as far as to say that Durant "loves" Thibodeau.
"Great players want to be coached," the source told Berman. "If they think the coach has a higher basketball IQ than them, they're all in."
Thibodeau was an assistant coach for the Team USA gold medal-winning squad in 2016, which included both Irving and Durant.
But, according to Kurt Helin of NBC Sports, Thibodeau's name does not come up regularly regarding the Nets job.
Instead, it is former Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue.
Lue may be the more ideal fit for the Nets, especially considering he is someone who has experience coaching Irving and winning a championship with him.
As for the Knicks, Thibodeau's old-school style raise questions on if he's the right fit for a young, developing team, but he tends to get results. He has a .647 career winning percentage as head coach, which would make him the first head coach with a winning percentage greater than .500 to be hired by the Knicks since Mike D'Antoni.
While speculation surrounding the Knicks and Nets coaching searches continue, hiring will have to wait. Coaching hires have been put on hold until the NBA reaches a resolution on the remainder of the 2019-20 regular season.
