Unfortunately for the New York Knicks, the idea of Jason Kidd or Ime Udoka being their next head coach has been emphatically rejected by the Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets.
“The Knicks have now formally requested permission to speak to Mavericks assistant coach Jason Kidd. And the request was denied by Dallas,” league sources told veteran NBA insider Marc Stein on Wednesday.
There have been rumors for days about the Knicks’ strong interest in Kidd. The Hall-of-Famer apparently checked off many boxes they want in a replacement for recently fired head coach Tom Thibodeau. Including his ability to deal with the heat of the New York media spotlight and his good relationship with top star Jalen Brunson. The guard flourished under Kidd during his final season in Dallas.
Well, now the chase for the NBA legend has come to an end. And Rockets head coach Ime Udoka — another rumored target — is not an option as well.
Ime Udoka had no interest in the New York Knicks head coach job
Ime Udoka was dismissed from his job as the head coach of the Boston Celtics three years ago following an unprofessional relationship with a female member of the Celtics staff. However, he bounced back in 2023 by joining the Rockets. And proved he is an elite talent by continuing his impressive results with a younger and less star-studded team.
That is why it makes a ton of sense that the Knicks are interested in landing his services. He is the kind of coach who could help this win-now team get to the NBA Finals. However, along with the rumors of the club’s desire to acquire him, there was always a belief the Rockets would deny a request to talk to their coach.
However, even if Houston allowed such conversations, it seems Udoka would not have been interested anyway. “Told firmly that in addition to Houston denying the request, Udoka himself also lacked interest. He’s in it for the long haul, here,” Rockets Wire insider Ben Dubose reports.
Now, the Knicks will have to pivot to the various other options on the head coach market. However, there are quite a few very strong candidates still available, including former Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone.
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