“You don’t fire Thibodeau with three years and $30 million on a contract extension that won’t kick in until next season because you lose in the conference finals. You fire Thibodeau because you want to. But it’s unclear where the Knicks go from here,” wrote Yahoo! Sports reporter Vincent Goodwill. That ‘unclear’ stage has not been made any better as, 2-and-a-half weeks later, the Knicks front office is nowhere close to locking down candidates for a new head coach. Things have gotten so bad that, much to the amusement of several X users, the team even reportedly interviewed Timberwolves assistant coach Micah Nori. After all, the Knicks’ previous attempts at making an offer to star coaches like Jason Kidd and Chris Finch failed. However, if Brian Windhorst is to be believed, at least one of them might now be open to considering an offer.

The ESPN sportswriter was interviewed recently on ‘The Rich Eisen Show’. During the same time, he highlighted that the New York Knicks asked permission from several teams to interview their respective coaches. While the same was denied, even getting permission would not have mattered, since several of them “are in a position to get contract extensions”. Ime Udoka in Houston has already gotten it. One will be done for Billy Donovan. However, for Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd, an extension does not seem to be on the horizon.

On top of that, a change within his own staff might hint at the HC’s reluctance to stay on with Kyrie Irving and co. “Jason Kidd, who was their number one choice, has not had a contract extension done, and Jason Kidd’s lead assistant, Sean Sweeney, just left the Mavericks to go work for the Spurs,” said Windhorst. “Those are just facts that I just stated, and I can move on from there”. Windhorst was careful not to imply anything. Just state the facts. As of now, the facts create doubt about Jason Kidd’s future with the Mavs.

Brian Windhorst had previously endorsed a Jason Kidd-New York Knicks team-up. During a ‘SportsCenter’ segment back in early June, he said that “The way I would describe this is there’s mutual intrigue on both sides. I know there’s this whole thing about asking permission, you don’t ask for permission to hire another team’s coach. When you ask, you’re going to hire them”. At the same time, Windhorst also highlighted that all bets would be off when the Dallas Mavericks give Kidd an extension. As of now, only rumors and speculation give credibility to Jason Kidd receiving a potential extension.

On top of that, Sean Sweeney being named the first associate head coach under Mitch Johnson, who became the first new head coach of the San Antonio Spurs after 29 years, is a big deal. After all, it highlights that the Mavs coaching staff is open to change and seeking new opportunities. At the same time, however, keeping Jason Kidd could become a bigger priority for the Dallas Mavericks after Sweeney’s departure. After all, the team will not have another experienced coach to fall back on. With Luka Doncic gone and Kyrie Irving dealing with injury issues, some form of stability needs to exist. Especially now, as Duke Blue Devils star Cooper Flagg is expected to be picked up by the team as the No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming NBA Draft.

These factors are new openings that the Knicks can leverage now in their pursuit of Kidd. As Shams Charania reported, the Mavericks had earlier closed the door on sending the coach to the New York Knicks by denying the latter permission to even interview him. Even before that, however, reports had emerged of how Kidd didn’t always enjoy being Dallas’ spokesperson after the franchise traded Luka Doncic. On top of that, as NBA reporter Kris Pursiainen highlighted, the Knicks will continue being resilient in their pursuit of Kidd, no matter what. Who knows? The Knicks might even choose an unconventional route and end up trading some players for the HC.

NBA Reporter proposes sending Future Draft Picks for Jason Kidd

Over the last few years, Eric Pincus has become renowned for putting out trade proposals based on current trends. These theories would work out several potential scenarios and draw out the most appropriate conclusions. At the same time, they would also be sort of unconventional. Perhaps the latter is what the reporter was going with when he decided that sending some future NBA players would be a good price for securing Jason Kidd now.

In one of his reports, a little before mid-June, Eric Pincus highlighted that the Dallas Mavericks should be sent a 2026 Washington Wizards protected first-round pick (via NY), and a 2026 first-round swap rights (top-4 protected), in exchange for Jason Kidd. As a side note, he added that such a trade should take place after the 2025 NBA Draft. After all, since the Washington Wizards’ pick is top-10 protected, a trade before the draft would have conveyed as two seconds (2026 and 2027). Furthermore, under this proposal, if the Knicks’ 2026 first-round selection is in the top four, Dallas will receive New York’s 2032 second-round pick.

It is no secret that, after the Luka Doncic trade, the popularity of GM Nico Harrison and the team dived. Any popularity that they have managed to regain has been thanks to securing the No. 1 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, which meant that the Mavs would play Cooper Flagg next season. Therefore, acquiring more first-round draft picks for the future could help the team further rebuild with star collegiate players. At the same time, the Knicks would get a star head coach who wouldn’t be too unfamiliar with the team. After all, Kidd played his final NBA season as a point guard with the Knicks during the 2012-13 season. On top of that, he has also previously worked with Jalen Brunson, back when the player was with the Dallas Mavericks.

The intrigue continues building, and anything can happen in the coming days. If the doors close on Jason Kidd for good, it will be easy to lose faith in the New York Knicks to attempt to woo another star head coach. Given all the recent updates, however, do you believe the Knicks can secure the Mavs’ HC? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section down below.