Knicks reportedly eye Ime Udoka and Jason Kidd as they search for a new head coach
New York is said to be interested in two coaches who are under contract elsewhere, but the Rockets are expected to refuse any request to speak with Udoka.
By Ishani Kapalli · · Originally reported by Boston.com
The New York Knicks are reportedly looking at former Celtics coach Ime Udoka as they try to fill their head coaching vacancy, according to NBA insider Marc Stein.
In his reporting, Stein named two coaches who are not currently available but who are said to interest the Knicks, citing league sources: Dallas's Jason Kidd and Houston's Ime Udoka. Both are under contract with their present teams.
Udoka signed a four-year deal with the Rockets in 2023. Houston went 41-41 and missed the playoffs in his first season. This past season, the team won 52 games and rose to the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.
The Knicks are expected to formally ask for permission to interview Kidd, the report says. A request for Udoka looks likelier to go nowhere. Stein wrote that one source with knowledge of the Rockets' thinking "categorically" said permission to speak with Udoka would be rejected if New York asked.
The vacancy opened when the Knicks fired Tom Thibodeau on Tuesday, shortly after the franchise's most successful playoff run in 25 years. New York eliminated the defending champion Celtics in the second round and reached the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2000. Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart and OG Anunoby are all under contract for next season.
The Knicks also finished a pair of 50-win seasons in a row, their first back-to-back run of that kind since 1995. Even so, the team lost to the Indiana Pacers in the playoffs for the second consecutive year and chose to take its coaching in a different direction.
Udoka and Kidd each have NBA Finals experience on their résumés. Udoka led the Celtics to the 2022 Finals, where they lost to Golden State. Kidd's Mavericks lost to the Celtics in the 2024 Finals. Both men also played briefly for the Knicks during their careers.
Boston was Udoka's first head coaching job in the NBA, which came after almost a decade as an assistant. He has coached for three of the five teams in the Atlantic Division, and a move to the Knicks would make it four.
