The New York Knicks are formally interviewing Minnesota Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori for the team’s head coaching vacancy, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports. Nori is one of three candidates for the job who have been interviewed, alongside former head coaches Mike Brown and Taylor Jenkins.
The Knicks fired Tom Thibodeau after reaching the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in 25 years. His exit was reportedly due to lineup mishandling and doubts about Thibodeau’s overall coaching acumen following a meeting between players and front office personnel after the series loss to the Indiana Pacers.
According to The Athletic’s James L. Edwards III, the Knicks also “tossed around the idea” of interviewing James Borrego, a former head coach of the Charlotte Hornets.
Nori has been an NBA assistant since the 2009 season, first with the Toronto Raptors and later serving on staffs for the Sacramento Kings, Denver Nuggets and Detroit Pistons prior to his 2021 arrival in Minnesota. Nori played baseball at Indiana before moving into coaching, first with the Hoosiers’ baseball team in 2005 as their hitting coach before eventually ascending to a position with the Raptors.
Jenkins, 40, spent the last six years as the Grizzlies’ coach before he was fired with nine games remaining in the 2024-25 regular season. Jenkins finished with a 250-214 record in Memphis, which featured three consecutive playoff berths from 2021-23. In 2022, Memphis advanced beyond the first round of the playoffs for the first and only time during Jenkins’ tenure.
Brown, 61, won his first NBA title as an assistant for the San Antonio Spurs before winning three more as a member of Golden State’s coaching staff. As a head coach, Brown has compiled a 454-304 record that includes one Eastern Conference title (with the 2006-07 Cleveland Cavaliers) and six playoff appearances.
The Knicks bring back several top-end pieces next season, including all-star point guard Jalen Brunson. He was a staunch supporter of Thibodeau, but was one of several starters who played high-end minutes down the stretch, leading to worries about durability.
The Knicks had three players inside the NBA’s most minutes played this season, including Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart, who came in at Nos. 1 and 3, respectively, averaging more than 37 minutes per game. Brunson, who missed time this season with calf and ankle injuries, was inside the top 20 for average minutes played.
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