
The New York Knicks finally found their head coach, but there were some other strong candidates in the mix.
Over the past few weeks, the Knicks’ early offseason headlines were dominated by their strange coaching search. It was already seen as strange that the Knicks would fire Tom Thibodeau after he led the franchise to its first conference finals in 25 years.
However, it only got more complex as the Knicks’ search for a new bench boss included trying to poach head coaches already employed by another team. Unsurprisingly, that strategy led the Knicks nowhere.
Eventually, the Knicks went with a more traditional route and chose Mike Brown as their next coach. Brown won Coach of the Year with the Sacramento Kings in 2023 and could help take New York to the next level.
While the days leading up to his hiring featured plenty of smoke about a potential deal, SNY’s Ian Begley recently gave some clarity on what might have been holding up the Knicks’ decision. Begley reported that while the Knicks interviewed a few candidates besides Brown, Micah Nori made the strongest impression of the runners-up.
Nori has been an assistant for the Minnesota Timberwolves for the past few years and became well-known as he took over as the team’s leader on the bench in the 2024 playoffs after Chris Finch suffered an injury.
Nori’s thoughts on workload/player production were the leading factor in his strong impression with the Knicks, Begley wrote. While Nori’s chances of getting the job were always going to be a long shot, his successful interview with the Knicks might have set him up for a different head coaching position in the near future.
