Report: Jason Kidd Takes The Lead in Knicks Coaching Search

The Knicks coaching search continues, with Jason Kidd now being seen as a frontrunner for the position.

Stefan Bondy of the Daily News started off Knicks fans' Friday morning with a report that Jason Kidd has emerged as a frontrunner for the team's head coaching position. According to a "plugged-in NBA source", contract negotiations with the long-time favorite, Tom Thibodeau, have "stalled". 

Jason Kidd now a frontrunner for Knicks coach as search turns messy: source https://t.co/GhSp96pw2q

— Stefan Bondy (@SbondyNBA) July 24, 2020

Bondy added that despite Thibodeau being the top choice for several months at this point, his source revealed that James Dolan has not "ponied up" and given into Thibodeau's contract requests. Marc Berman wrote yesterday for the NY Post that his sources indicate that Dolan is "still willing to pay what it takes for a marquee new head coach," which adds a layer of complication to today's new report; Ian Begley, in a video breakdown of the latest updates on the coaching search, said yesterday that the team had not entered into negotiations with any of its candidates - which would conflict today's report that negotiations with Thibodeau aren't going well.

Don't be surprised if we hear about Jason Kidd being a legitimate candidate for this job; I don't think he'd actually get hired as the HC though, meaning he probably just stays in LA... Atkinson remains as legit of a candidate as you would expect. https://t.co/JAw7Pig5Go

— Kris Pursiainen (@krispursiainen) July 6, 2020

I tweeted back in early July that Jason Kidd would be a serious candidate for the position, and today's report seems to fully confirm that. Whether Kidd is a frontrunner, or the frontrunner, is an important distinction however, and I believe it is the former of the two. 

Bondy's report from this morning does say that there are members of the organization who are skeptical of Kidd's coaching ability, which has resulted in a 183-190 record in five total seasons with the Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks, and that hiring Kidd would also mean adding assistant coaches hand-picked by Leon Rose and the rest of the front office, as a means of saving Kidd from himself. These remarks, and what previous reports have said about Kidd's candidacy, make it clear that Kidd may enough fans in the Knicks front office to stay in consideration, but perhaps not enough to result in him getting the job.