The New York Knicks appeared to put their hopes on hiring Jason Kidd. It now seems like they will have to look elsewhere for Tom Thibodeau's replacement.
According to The Athletic, citing team and league sources, "the Mavericks continue to privately insist to key stakeholders that Kidd won't be going anywhere."
The Athletic's Sam Amick and Christian Clark also reported that in negotiations with veteran NBA coach Jay Triano for the role of lead assistant, "Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison made it clear to Triano during the process that Kidd would remain the head coach."
So, while it's fair to wait for a more formal declaration that Dallas's bench boss isn't leaving, e.g., a contract extension, it appears New York must pivot.
What the Celtics can take from the Knicks' coaching search
Two lessons.
The first is simple: appreciate what you have. Joe Mazzulla is an excellent coach. He's only three years into his role as an NBA bench boss, and he's gained crucial experiences. That includes being essential to a championship run.
Mazzulla has made schematical strokes of genius, maximizing arguably the league's most versatile roster. He and his coaching staff have accomplished that by essentially making everyone on the floor interchangeable. Deploying guards down low in the dunker spot is a quintessential example.
So are stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown's willingness to go to the corners. That allows Boston to capitalize on being blessed with a team filled with players who are effective at shooting, passing, and making plays when they put the ball on the floor.
Mazzulla also deserves praise for infusing his mindset into the team. That's helped the Celtics relish pressure-packed moments. A prime example occurred on the NBA's brightest stage in a victory in Dallas in a closely contested Game 3 of the Finals. Two tilts later, they captured Banner 18.
Mazzulla has also helped the 2023-24 NBA champions free themselves of expectations. Not getting caught up in how they or anyone on the outside thinks a matchup is supposed to go has rid them of frustrations that used to undermine them. In years past, that would surface as teams mounted comebacks rather than tapping out due to a sizable deficit. Thankfully, those days are gone.
The reason appreciating who you have is lesson No. 1 here is teams have a tendency to grow frustrated and seek change.
That happened in New York. When Thibodeau arrived, the Knicks hadn't made the playoffs in seven years. They made it in four of his five seasons at the helm. They advanced to at least the second round three times. Their 2024-25 campaign concluded with a run to the Eastern Conference Finals. They hadn't reached those heights in 25 years.
Maybe moving on from Thibodeau was the right decision. His flaws, including the taxing minutes on his starting unit, are well-documented. And head coaches often have a short shelf life. If players were adamant about bringing him back, he likely would be.
But there's no guarantee New York's better off for jettisoning Thibodeau. That leads us to the second lesson.
It's how the story ends that matters most
It seems fair to label hiring Jason Kidd as plan A for the Knicks. It now appears that won't come to fruition.
The million-dollar question when discussing a potential coaching change is who a team will replace its current bench boss with. It's best to have a more firm understanding of your options beforehand. New York appears to have miscalculated on that front.
But while Celtics fans, even those who aren't believers in Kidd as a coach, can delight in the schadenfreude of seeing a rival face plant, the story isn't over.
What matters most here isn't that it seems Kidd won't spurn the Mavericks for the Knicks; it's who the latter ultimately hires. Whether that individual is better than the candidate it just failed to land and whether this person helps New York reach the Finals for the first time since 2000 or plays a role in regressing matters most.