Former Villanova coach Jay Wright not all for Knicks head coach job

Jay Wright is not going to be the following head coach of the New York Knicks. The previous Villanova males’s basketball head coach has knowledgeable the Knicks that he is not all for succeeding Tom Thibodeau and can stay retired, he instructed Sports activities Illustrated. 

Wright added in his feedback to Sports activities Illustrated that he and Knicks president Leon Rose briefly mentioned the place. Although he and Rose are good pals, Wright reiterated his plans to stay retired as he by no means requested to interview for the emptiness. 

Moreover, the Knicks reportedly plan to ask the Mavericks for permission to interview head coach Jason Kidd. Nonetheless, the Mavericks are anticipated to show down any request the Knicks make to interview Kidd, longtime NBA insider Marc Stein reported Saturday. Kidd spent the ultimate season of his taking part in profession with the Knicks in 2012-13. 

Within the moments after Thibodeau was fired, Wright was instantly seen as a prime candidate to interchange him. He coached three of the Knicks’ prime gamers in school, profitable a number of nationwide championships with guard Jalen Brunson and ahead Mikal Bridges. He additionally received a nationwide title teaching wing Josh Hart.

Nonetheless, some insiders seen the Knicks’ probabilities at acquiring the two-time nationwide championship-winning head coach as a little bit of a protracted shot. 

“Jay Wright is having fun with crimson wine, basketball, tv and his household,” FOX Sports activities school basketball professional John Fanta not too long ago mentioned on “The Herd.” “If he needed to educate once more, he’d be the Villanova coach.

“Jay Wright isn’t going wherever.”

Wright, 63, introduced his retirement from Villanova after main the Wildcats to the Ultimate 4 in 2022. That marked his fourth Ultimate 4 journey as Villanova’s head coach, profitable eight Massive East regular-season titles and 5 Massive East Event titles to go along with his two nationwide championship victories.

Jalen Brunson and Jay Wright received two nationwide championships collectively at Villanova. (Picture by Steven Ryan/Getty Photos)

Wright is one among a number of coaches with Massive East ties who’ve mentioned they do not plan to pursue the Knicks’ head coach gig. St. John’s coach Rick Pitino, who coached the Knicks for 2 seasons within the late Eighties, mentioned he was “completely not” all for turning into New York’s subsequent head coach. UConn’s Dan Hurley, in the meantime, sidestepped a query about his potential curiosity within the job.

Along with Wright, Kidd, Pitino and Hurley, one other rumored Knicks candidate appears unlikely to interview for the job. New York reportedly expressed curiosity in Houston Rockets coach Ime Udoka. However after capturing the No. 2 seed within the Western Convention in the course of the 2024-25 season, the Rockets aren’t all for letting the Knicks probably negotiate a deal and commerce involving Udoka, per The Athletic. 

As for Kidd, the Knicks reportedly deliberate to ask the Mavericks for permission to interview their head coach. Nonetheless, the Mavericks are anticipated to show down any request the Knicks make to interview Kidd, longtime NBA insider Marc Stein reported Saturday.

Past these 5 candidates, former Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone and present Cleveland Cavaliers affiliate head coach Johnnie Bryant have been seen as prospects for the Knicks’ head coach job. Bryant is the present betting favourite for the job, whereas Malone has the second-best odds, by way of DraftKings Sportsbook.  

Bryant, who was the Knicks’ affiliate head coach from 2020-24, was one of many finalists for the Phoenix Suns’ head coach emptiness, however they named fellow Cavaliers assistant Jordan Ott as their subsequent head coach on Friday. Malone, who grew up close to Madison Sq. Backyard in Queens, was fired by the Nuggets with lower than every week to go within the common season.

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