NY Knicks: Spurs assistant Will Hardy to interview for head coach job

The New York Knicks continue to add to their list of coaching candidates with another assistant from the San Antonio Spurs coaching tree.

The New York Knicks are expected to conduct interviews for their head coaching position over the next few weeks and the list of candidates continues to grow. According to Adrian Wojnarowski, the Knicks have been granted permission to interview San Antonio Spurs assistant Will Hardy for the job.

Hardy joins 76ers assistant Ime Udoka and possibly Becky Hammon as the third assistant coach with ties to Gregg Popovich and the Spurs organization. If you’re a Knicks fan, you have to be thrilled to see the team considering names from the gold standard of competitive NBA basketball.

Will Hardy is a well-respected candidate for the New York Knicks.

The 32-year-old assistant, Hardy, was named as a lead assistant on the same day the Spurs added franchise legend Tim Duncan to the sideline. Hardy first joined the Spurs organization as an intern in 2010 and worked his way up to grabbing a seat next to Popovich.

Upon being promoted, Hardy got a ringing endorsement from Spurs star Manu Ginobili. A video posted to the Spurs Facebook page in 2017 also included kind words from former Spur Kawhi Leonard.

The Richmond, Virginia native served as head coach of the Spurs summer league team in Utah from 2015-2018, as well as head coach of the Vegas summer league team in 2017 and 2018. He cut his teeth in the San Antonio organization in 2010 as an intern, advancing to the video room, before joining the coaching staff.

The Knicks are reportedly looking to interview 8-10 candidates for their head coaching job, according to SNY. Tom Thibodeau remains the favorite for the position, but the team has expanded their list of candidates which includes notable names, such as former Nets coach Kenny Atkinson, and former Knicks coach Mike Woodson. Interim coach Mike Miller will also receive consideration.

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Hardy joins a list of assistants set to interview with recently-hired Knicks president Leon Rose, possibly over Zoom, for the lead role. Besides Hardy and Udoka, New York also plans to interview Orlando Magic assistant Pat Delany and Chicago Bulls assistant Chris Fleming. Additional names, such as Jason Kidd, could eventually gain an interview, per SNY.