As everyone waits on the New York Knicks to find Tom Thibodeau’s replacement, their head coaching search itself may be telling us everything we need to know about the rest of their offseason. The underlying message: They’re not planning to make any major roster changes.
At the very least, this lengthy coaching search suggests they’ve already made their decision on the Kevin Durant trade front. That decision? Actively choosing to sit out the KD sweepstakes, and to avoid Karl-Anthony Towns trade scenarios in the process.
Now, you might be thinking “Head coaches have nothing to do with making trades or personnel moves!” And, hey, you are technically right. Transactions are on the front office to execute.
But head coaches are nevertheless part of the process. The Knicks will want their next head honcho’s input on bigger moves that impact the rotation they’ll be running. They will certainly want to consult Thibs’ replacement on whether free-agency signings and trade acquisitions fit the to-be-determined coach’s on-court ideologies and preferences. After all, New York presumably moved on from Thibs at least in part to shake up the way they play.
So while the continued absence of a head coach—or even a top candidate—does not prevent the team from going about its business, it almost assuredly delays it. And that’s bad news for anyone hoping the Knicks plan to acquire Kevin Durant.
The Kevin Durant saga is nearing its conclusion
Conventional wisdom demands New York have a head coach in place before the draft, which takes place on Wednesday, June 25. The Knicks do not have to view that as an unofficial deadline because of the draft itself. They have just one pick (right now), and will not be on the clock until No. 50. That is the kind of on-the-margins decision they can make without a head coach’s input.
But the draft may be the deadline to land Durant. And at this point, the Phoenix Suns may ship him out before then.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, a KD trade “could happen in the next few days.” That increases the urgency for interested teams to get their best offers on the table.
For the Knicks’ part, their package is pretty straightforward. They need to build something around KAT, another smaller salary, and perhaps odds and ends to get any deal across the finish line.
There are, of course, other packages they can build. But depth is already among New York’s biggest problems. Using two of OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart and Mitchell Robinson to acquire one player would be a fireable offense from team president Leon Rose.
Yet, even having this debate without a head coach in place rings all sorts of hollow. Sure, any clipboard-carrying basketball mind would likely pounce at the opportunity to oversee a squad with Durant in its rotation. But the Knicks also probably want to hear their vision for the frontcourt, and whether it features Towns at power forward, KAT at center, or no KAT at all. Trading him before hiring a coach runs in stark opposition of that information-gathering process.
This isn't just about a Kevin Durant trade
Similar logic applies to any notable move the Knicks might look at making. Sure, if they stumble into a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade, the head coaching situation doesn't matter. But that type of monster acquisition is incredibly specific, not to mention unlikely.
In all actuality, the Knicks taking their time to find Thibs' successor implies they believe this roster needs futzing and fiddling rather than any seismic changes. Maybe they're right. Or perhaps this assertion proves wrong, and New York ends up making its biggest splash after the draft, much later in the summer, not unlike last offseason, when they landed KAT just before training camp.
For now, though, the Knicks' head coaching process is speaking volumes—not just about who they're interested in, but their appetite for making serious tweaks to the roster.