The New York Knicks shockingly parted ways with Tom Thibodeau on Tuesday. The move ended his five-year tenure with the franchise after he led them to their first Eastern Conference Finals appearance since 1999-00.
While many questioned the decision, the franchise's attention now turns to filling the vacancy -- as the job figures to be highly coveted. The attraction of coaching a team on the cusp of title contention in a big market should be enough to land the Knicks a big name.
An NBA reporter recently suggested several names that could be targeted by New York. Sam Quinn of CBS Sports mentioned four potential options, two of which have won championships in the NBA.
"Michael Malone is the obvious Knicks front runner," CBS Sports' Sam Quinn tweeted Tuesday. "Mike Budenholzer figures to be in the mix as well. Both champions. Both CAA clients. Johnnie Bryant would figure to be the likeliest first-time candidate given his ties to the team. If Jay Wright ever wanted an NBA job..."
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Malone led the Denver Nuggets to their first championship in 2022-23, while Budenholzer coached the Milwaukee Bucks to their second title in 2020-21. Bryant has spent the past 11 seasons on the sidelines - spending seven years as an assistant coach with the Utah Jazz. He spent three years as the Knicks associate head coach before serving in the same role with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2024-25.
He was one of two finalists for the Phoenix Suns vacancy, however, they hired Jordan Ott on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Wright spent 28 seasons as a head coach at the collegiate level -- including 21 years leading the Villanova Wildcats, where he won titles in 2016 and 2018 -- before retiring in 2022. He has an obvious connection to New York as he coached Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges during that span.
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