Dawn Staley-Knicks Speculation Addressed by Shams Charania amid NBA Rumors
ESPN's Shams Charania discussed South Carolina women's basketball head coach Dawn Staley regarding the New York Knicks' current head coaching vacancy on Monday.
"That is not something that has come at my desk," Charania said during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show. "… It's not something that has hit my desk as of yet. But listen, the Knicks are going through their process. I'm sure they're talking to several candidates. James Borrego, Taylor Jenkins, Mike Brown, Micah Nori. Those are the known interviews so far that I have."
There have been unfounded rumors linking Staley and the Knicks, who are searching for a new head coach after parting ways with Tom Thibodeau on June 3.
New York reportedly looked into several current NBA head coaches, including the Billy Donovan of the Chicago Bulls, Jason Kidd of the Dallas Mavericks, Ime Udoka of the Houston Rockets, Chris Finch of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Quin Snyder of the Atlanta Hawks. The Knicks' requests to interview each coach were denied.
Per Charania, New York has been talking with Borrego, Brown, Jenkins and Nori.
Brown, the former head coach of the Sacramento Kings, and Jenkins, the former Memphis Grizzlies' head coach, appear to be high on the Knicks' list of preferred candidates.
On June 12, Sam Amick of The Athletic reported that New York had an "increased" focus on Brown and Jenkins.
As for Staley, she's served as head coach of the Gamecocks since the 2008-09 season. Her tenure at the school has been immensely successful. She owns a 475-110 overall record and has won three national titles over the past nine seasons.
Staley has generated interest at the NBA level before, with the Portland Trail Blazers interviewing her for their opening at head coach in 2021.
She also revealed that she declined to pursue the Washington Wizards' head coaching vacancy after the team reached out to her during a Nov. 2023 interview with Tom Kludt of Vanity Fair.
Staley's name hasn't surfaced among Charania's reported candidates for the Knicks, though.
