Jason Kidd Reportedly Eyed for Knicks Interview Request After Thibodeau Firing As HC

The New York Knicks are reportedly interested in interviewing Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd for their head coaching vacancy following the firing of Tom Thibodeau this week.

According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Knicks are expected to request permission to interview Kidd "in the coming days."

However, there is no guarantee the Mavs will grant permission, and Stein noted that Kidd is "believed to be happy" in Dallas. Kidd has reportedly also expressed excitement over the idea of coaching Cooper Flagg, who the Mavericks are expected to select first overall in the 2025 NBA draft.

Kidd, 52, is a Hall of Fame guard who ended his playing career with the Knicks, spending one season with the organization in 2012-13.

He transitioned to coaching immediately after his retirement, spending one season as head coach of the Brooklyn Nets, four as head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks, two as a Los Angeles Lakers assistant and the past four seasons as head coach of the Mavs.

Kidd has compiled a 362-339 record in his head coaching career, and he is 179-149 in Dallas, which is good for a .546 winning percentage.

He has taken the Mavs to the playoffs twice, reaching the Western Conference Finals in 2022 and the NBA Finals in 2024.

The Mavericks were expected to be contenders again this season, but they shocking traded superstar guard Luka Dončić to the Lakers for a package headlined by Anthony Davis.

Kyrie Irving tore his ACL and the Mavericks went on to get knocked out in the postseason play-in tournament, but they were thrown a lifeline by lucking out and winning the NBA draft lottery.

That means the Mavs are poised to have a core of Flagg, Davis and Irving once the latter is healthy.

It is easy to understand why Kidd may want to stick around and coach that group, although the Knicks are stacked in their own right, as they are set to return the starting lineup of Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart.

The Knicks made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals this season for the first time since 2000, but they fell to the Indiana Pacers, which led to the firing of Thibodeau, who went 226-174 with four playoff appearances over five seasons in New York.

New York's head coaching direction after Thibodeau's firing isn't yet clear, but Stein was the first to report that the Knicks were potentially looking to poach an active head coach from another team.

Stein reported on the Knicks' interest in Kidd and Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka, while NBA insider Zach Lowe said Friday on the Bill Simmons Podcast that he had heard rumblings regarding the Knicks wanting to hire a former NBA player as their head coach.