Knicks past favorite to be head coach now viewed as 'long shot'

Former New York Knicks assistant coach Johnnie Bryant remains a “long shot” to land the Knicks’ head coaching vacancy, per SNY’s Ian Begley. 

After the shockwaves died down after Tom Thibodeau was fired on June 3, many speculated that Bryant — currently an assistant coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers — would become a prime candidate to land the job. That doesn’t seem to be the case, at least for now. 

“When your talking about the coaches who have been in, or will be in for interviews, I think those are the guys who have much higher odds of landing this thing than Johnnie Bryant,” Begley said in the latest edition of The Putback with Ian Begley. “I don’t think that’s a shot at Bryant at all, it’s just the reality of where he is, and where he would be if the Knicks hired him which is a first-time head coach.”

Bryant was the associate head coach of the Knicks from 2020-2024 before accepting the same role with the Cavaliers prior to this past season. Bryant was also in the running for the Phoenix Suns’ head coaching vacancy this offseason before they ultimately hired Jordan Ott. 

The Knicks have already conducted interviews with Mike Brown, and Taylor Jenkins for their opening. Additionally, they were denied permission to interview the head coaches of the Dallas Mavericks (Jason Kidd), Chicago Bulls (Billy Donovan), Minnesota Timberwolves (Chris Finch), Atlanta Hawks (Quin Snyder), and Houston Rockets (Ime Udoka). New York is evidently targeting an experienced head coach to maximize their championship window rather than hire a first-timer.