If he can get the New York Knicks head coach position, it would be better late than never for the candidate who wanted Mikal Bridges.
The New York Knicks have been a franchise in disarray these last few weeks. After their disappointing playoff elimination, their management decided to take some drastic steps
The first big move was to get rid of Tom Thibodeau. Despite taking the team to their first Eastern Conference Final in 25 years, Leon Rose felt Thibs had taken them as far as he could.
What ensued was, quite frankly, an embarrassing turn of events. The Knicks prioritized landing Jason Kidd. But after approaching the Mavericks and several other teams, the Knicks were soundly rejected by all of them.
After that, the Knicks chose to alter their approach. Taylor Jenkins and Mike Brown were identified as potential head coach candidates.
While Jalen Brunson is reportedly an admirer of Mike Brown, his rival for the job, Taylor Jenkins, feels the same way about Mikal Bridges.
The Memphis Grizzlies unceremoniously fired Taylor Jenkins in April. Right after the decision, multiple insiders at ESPN wrote a detailed report on what exactly went wrong.
Looking back at the piece, it is interesting to see that Jenkins has long been a fan of Mikal Bridges and even tried landing the young star after the departure of Dillon Brooks.
“They’d also tried to trade for Mikal Bridges and Dorian Finney-Smith, sources said, because they knew they needed an elite wing defender to replace Brooks.”
Well, it might not be under the circumstances he wanted back in 2023, but if he can land the Knicks head coaching job, Jenkins will have Bridges, whom he considers a brilliant wing defender.
However, Jenkins still has to compete for the job with Brown. But it should also be noted that Jason Kidd’s arrival isn’t ruled out by the Knicks yet, either.
Right now, the New York Knicks players are done for the season. While Josh Hart is busy watching the NBA Finals as a hater, he did defend Tom Thibodeau on X.
“All y’all talking trash about Thibs lame as hell. A different direction was taken, but y’all should be appreciative for what he did for the team and organization.”
Thibodeau and Hart were very close, as the two always praised each other to the media. Thibs had a similar relationship with Jalen Brunson.
After the Knicks’ playoff exit, Brunson went off on a reporter who questioned Thibodeau’s fit on the team.
It’s clear that the players all admired Thibodeau. With that in mind, Knicks management should be worried about the players embracing his haphazard replacement.
At the end of the day, the Knicks players are professionals. So you’d hope they show their new coach, whoever it may end up being, the respect the position demands.
