The New York Knicks are actively searching for a new head coach after recently firing Tom Thibodeau.
While coach Thibodeau helped the team end a 25-year conference final drought, he seemingly lost the trust of his players in the locker room.
So much so that one player claimed he wouldn’t have played for the team if the Knicks hadn’t fired Thibs. Either way, that chapter is over as the organization is looking for a new voice in the locker room.
Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd has been a commonly discussed candidate for the job. However, NBA analyst Bill Simmons is surprised that one coach is not garnering attention for the same.
The 2024-25 NBA season was a campaign of surprising head coaching changes. Be it the Denver Nuggets sacking Michael Malone ahead of the playoffs or the Memphis Grizzlies parting ways with Taylor Jenkins.
Hardly any NBA fan saw those moves coming. However, it means quality coaches like Jenkins and Malone are available on the market.
While Malone has been linked to the Knicks, Simmons is ‘surprised’ that the organization hasn’t considered Jenkins as a potential replacement for Thibodeau.
“The only name that didn’t really get mentioned, and I was surprised, Taylor Jenkins is a good coach. I watched a lot of Memphis games going ‘Man they have a really good coach,” Simmons said on his podcast.
“He’s just kind of sitting there. Everyone was talking [about] Mike Malone, but that just feels like you’re running back a different version of Thibs.
“Taylor Jenkins I thought you could make a pretty fair case with him that he had a really tough job the last couple of years,” Simmons added.
For context, Jenkins coached the Grizzlies for six seasons where he attained a record of 250-214. It means he had a winning percentage of 53.9% during his tenure.
It has been reported that Knicks owner James Dolan spearheaded Thibs’ firing. Evidently, it’s fair to assume he’ll play a huge role in hiring Thibs’ replacement.
However, Simmons’ co-host, Zach Lowe, is worried that Dolan doesn’t even know who Jenkins is.
“He’s a very good coach. Memphis to New York as a market is about as big of a jump as you could make,” Lowe stated.
“Does James Dolan know who Taylor Jenkins is? I’m not even being facetious, does he know that that’s a coach?” the NBA expert questioned.
Hiring Jenkins may not be a popular move, but it will be interesting to see what he can do with the immensely talented roster of the Knicks.
