NBA Rumors: Latest Buzz on Tom Thibodeau, Jason Kidd and More

The NBA is on the verge of resuming play with 22 of its 30 teams together in Florida. For the other eight franchises, the 2020 offseason has essentially begun.

The 2020 NBA draft isn't scheduled to take place until October 16, and free agency won't kick off until two days after that. However, players aren't the only focal points of the offseason for teams left out of the NBA's restart bubble.

The New York Knicks, for example, are continuing a coaching search that began when Leon Rose took over as team president in March. It's been an extensive search thus far, with Chicago Bulls assistant Chris Fleming emerging as the latest candidate, according to Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes.

However, it seems that former Bulls and Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Tom Thibodeau has the inside track toward the starting job right now.

"The thought around the league is still that this is Tom Thibodeau's job to lose," Shams Charania recently reported for Stadium.

Bleacher Report's Ric Bucher took things a step further and suggested to WFAN's Moose & Maggie Show that Thibodeau could be officially named as head coach very soon.

"I would expect that in the next week or so, we'll get an announcement that Tom Thibodeau will be the next head coach of the New York Knicks," Bucher said.

However, Thibodeau might not be a lock for the job just yet. According to Marc Berman of the New York Post, Los Angeles Lakers assistant Jason Kidd still has a shot at the job.

"Some insiders feel he's the lone long-shot threat to favorite Tom Thibodeau," Berman wrote. "[Executive VP Williams] Wesley is said to like Kidd, too."

Kidd's relationships with players like LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo could also play a role in New York's decision-making.

"LeBron loves Kidd," one team executive said, per Berman. "But Giannis swears by him."

According to Tom Downey of Chat Sports, there has been some buzz that the Knicks might hire Kidd as part of an effort to lure Antetokounmpo away from the Milwaukee Bucks. However, it's hard to believe that hiring Kidd alone would be enough to land Antetokounmpo when he hits free agency next offseason.

Gerald Green Drew Interest Ahead of Bubble

While teams like the Knicks are focusing on the more distant future, the 22 teams involved in the bubble are concentrating on the weeks and games directly ahead. For some of them, that process also involves finding replacements for players who have opted out of the return.

According to Stein, "multiple teams" were interested in veteran guard Gerald Green:

The 34-year-old Green elected not to return this year, but he averaged 9.2 points and 2.5 rebounds in roughly 20 minutes per game with the Houston Rockets last season. He missed all of this season with a broken foot and was traded to the Denver Nuggets and eventually released.

The Rockets weren't allowed to add him during the transaction window since they just dealt him in February, according to The Athletic's John Hollinger. A return to Houston could make some sense for Green once he is allowed to make it.

Hollinger also mentioned the Indiana Pacers, Oklahoma City Thunder and Utah Jazz as teams that could have benefited from adding the 6'6" wing before the restart, and these are teams that could maintain interest during free agency proper this October. 

If Green wants to continue his playing career next season, he should have options.