The New York Knicks fired Tom Thibodeau without a concrete plan in place to replace him, leaving the organization to reach out to several teams and request to speak with their head coaches, but one of those coaches hasn't been Doc Rivers.
There are five head coaches that the Knicks have knowingly requested to speak with: Ime Udoka, Chris Finch, Jason Kidd, Quin Snyder, and Billy Donovan. Sam Amick of The Athletic reported on Thursday that there is a "high-profile coaching crew" (subscription required) that they haven't requested to talk to: Rick Carlisle, Steve Kerr, Rivers, Ty Lue, and JJ Redick.
Out of those five names, there are two that don't belong with the others. Rivers isn't a desirable head coach (at least, not anymore), and Redick wrapped up his first-ever year of coaching this past season. If the Knicks had to choose their next head coach between the two of them, they'd likely go with Redick, which says a lot about Rivers. None of this is meant to be a shot at Redick, whose basketball IQ is off the charts. He's still a newbie.
New York is familiar with Rivers in more ways than one. He spent two seasons playing for the Knicks in the early 1990s. He has been a head coach in the Atlantic Division twice, first in Boston and then in Philadelphia. Rivers is still in the East as Milwaukee's head coach.
Knicks haven't requested to speak with Bucks coach Doc Rivers
Leon Rose and New York issued a statement after firing Thibodeau, with the first sentence reading, "Our organization is singularly focused on winning a championship for our fans."
Guess who has led a team to a title? Rivers. He was the head coach when the Celtics won the 2008 title. Not only does he have championship experience, but he also has experience coaching star players, including Kevin Garnett, Joel Embiid, and Giannis Antetokounmpo. People who don't watch the NBA might wonder why the Knicks aren't considering Rivers. They've been desperate enough to reach out to other teams, so why not the Bucks?
New York would've been better off keeping Thibodeau, rather than pursuing Rivers. His playoff failures (outside of 2008) are enough to deter the Knicks. His head-scratching rotations and stubbornness (sound familiar?) are two other things that New York shouldn't want. Rivers' track record doesn't work in his favor.
Milwaukee hired Rivers as its head coach in January 2024, giving him a four-year contract. The Knicks' head coach search has been embarrassing enough, and the cherry on top would be if they sent draft compensation to the Bucks for Rivers. It's not 2013 anymore, when the Clippers sent the Celtics a second-round pick for Rivers. He can stay in Wisconsin.