Shams Charania Says NBA Teams Are Telling Knicks 'F No' Over HC Interview Requests
The New York Knicks may have overestimated the desire opposing teams have to get rid of their current head coaches as they look to find a replacement for Tom Thibodeau.
On Wednesday's episode of The Pat McAfee Show (starts at the 1:00 mark), ESPN's Shams Charania explained that "F no" is among the terms Knicks officials are being told when they request permission from other teams to speak with their head coach about the vacancy in New York.
Despite leading the Knicks to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2000, Thibodeau was fired on June 3 after five seasons. There had been rumblings after their loss to the Indiana Pacers that some players weren't happy with his style of play, particularly how many minutes he asks of his starters in the regular season.
Given how high profile the job coaching in New York is, it was assumed the Knicks job would be highly coveted by many candidates. There's no indication that's not true, but three of the Knicks' top choices are all currently employed.
The Knicks have tried to get permission to speak with them, but their current teams have denied those requests. The group includes Jason Kidd (Dallas Mavericks), Chris Finch (Minnesota Timberwolves) and Ime Udoka (Houston Rockets).
Kidd seemed to be the candidate at the top of New York's wish list. ESPN's Brian Windhorst said on Tuesday the Knicks "absolutely" wanted to hire the 52-year-old.
Charania reported on Wednesday that the Knicks' request to the Mavs about Kidd was "firmly" rejected.
At least based on how their search is going in the immediate aftermath of Thibodeau's firing, the Knicks didn't seem to plan on their requests being turned down.
There's no indication at this point who their candidates will be outside of the names previously mentioned. Mike Brown, Michael Malone, Darvin Ham and Taylor Jenkins are among the currently unemployed coaches who have been cited as potential options for New York.
Thibodeau went 226-174 in five seasons with the Knicks. He was the first head coach for the club to make the playoffs in three consecutive years since Jeff Van Gundy's run of six straight postseason appearances from 1996 to 2001.
