After firing former head coach Tom Thibodeau, the New York Knicks are still searching for their next coach. It appears they were high on former Knicks player and current coach of the Dallas Mavericks, Jason Kidd.
However, the Dallas Mavericks declined permission to let him be interviewed for the job, throwing cold water on those plans. While Kidd has recently coached a team to the NBA Finals, New York not landing him could prove to be a great thing.
After all, he has had a questionable history as a head coach with his tenure with the Milwaukee Bucks before joining the Mavericks. To be fair, Thibodeau had his flaws too.
Still, he was highly successful, even leading the Knicks to the Eastern Conference Finals this season. Moving on from him now would only make sense if they hired a coach who could take them to the next level.
The Knicks dodged a bullet by not hiring Jason Kidd
Although they have plenty of star power, New York struggled at times to score, and they often relied too much on Jalen Brunson. A new coach would have to help elevate their offense by injecting more creativity into the game plan.
Although he is one of the greatest point guards ever, Kidd's offenses have never been especially good. Even despite coaching Luka Dončić for three and a half seasons and Giannis Antetokounmpo for four seasons.
Jason Kidd's Bucks never ranked higher than 13th in offense. Mike Budenholzer took over and they immediately ranked 4th.
— Sam Quinn (@SamQuinnCBS) June 11, 2025
Rick Carlise's '20 Mavs had the best offense in NBA history to that point. Kidd's Mavs never ranked in the top five.
I think the Knicks are dodging a bullet. https://t.co/mqBvziK1Yr
New York are better served looking elsewhere and seeing if they can find a better coaching fit. Who they will ultimately hire is still up in the air, with them having already been linked to several coaches.
Dallas’ Jason Kidd
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 12, 2025
Minnesota’s Chris Finch
Houston’s Ime Udoka
Atlanta’s Quin Snyder
Chicago’s Billy Donovan
The Knicks have been denied permission to speak to all of them this week for their head coaching vacancy. https://t.co/4k6Ds6EDsO
With them having little flexibility to make big moves this summer, upgrading at coach was their most obvious move to make. Whether that pans out for them is very much a question mark. However, there have been recent instances where a team fired a well-regarded coach only to soar to new heights.
The most obvious example is when the Golden State Warriors fired Mark Jackson after leading them to the second round of the playoffs. Of course, they hired Steve Kerr, and five championships later, they obviously don't regret that decision.
If New York can go from good to great on the sidelines, then they could have a strong chance of making the NBA Finals next season. Luckily for them, they clearly dodged a bullet by not hiring Kidd.