Knicks News: Thibs Still the Frontrunner

According to a new report, Tom Thibodeau is still the leading candidate in the Knicks head coaching search

The Knicks list of head coaching candidates has been steadily growing, but according to a new report, it hasn't changed the most likely outcome.

Despite the fact that Knicks now have nearly half as many candidates as the number of games the team won this season, according to Marc Stein of the New York Times, Tom Thibodeau is "definitely" still the front runner for the job.

In the mailbag section of his latest NY Times newsletter, Stein adds the following:

If you polled league insiders, they would still regard Tom Thibodeau as “the” front-runner for the Knicks’ coaching vacancy, even as new candidates seem to emerge daily.

Stein also writes that Kenny Atkinson is still seen by those around the league as the biggest competitor to Thibodeau in this search due to Atkinson’s reputation as a coach who specializes in development and the fact that the Knicks have one of the NBA's youngest rosters.

Despite most observers still being of the opinion that this is Thibs job to lose - something reported in several outlets over the last few months, including here back in February - Stein also noted that Leon Rose's first coaching search is not expected to be a quick one, stating that the process is likely to continue "well into July." He also confirms that the front office began the process of interviewing candidates via video.

Finally, Stein opines something that many others have, which is that just like in 2018, the Knicks are likely using this process as much to gather intel about their players as they are to seriously consider this many candidates.

And in an NBA landscape where they are one of eight teams whose season is finished and the only organization in the league with a vacancy on the sidelines, who can blame them for taking their time? We still haven't heard from new President Leon Rose and thus know little about what his priorities will be, but the evidence suggests that is there's one thing we can be sure of, it's this:

He's diligent, and he's not going to rush any of the moves that will likely come to define his tenure.