As the New York Knicks look to fill their coaching vacancy, they appear to be aiming high.
The Knicks plan to ask the Dallas Mavericks for permission to speak with Jason Kidd about the role, NBA insider Marc Stein reported on Friday.
Kidd, the 52-year-old Hall of Fame point guard, has led the Mavericks since the 2021-22 campaign and helped guide the franchise to last year's NBA Finals.
That's exactly where the Knicks want to be after losing to the Indiana Pacers in six games during the Eastern Conference final and subsequently firing head coach Tom Thibodeau.
New York appears set to return mostly the same roster that placed third in the East at 51-31 and went on to win two playoff rounds, including taking out the reigning champion Boston Celtics.
Kidd's Mavericks missed the playoffs this season after a seismic mid-season trade of superstar Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. Dallas received Anthony Davis, who was injured in his first game with the team, as the key piece in return.
However, the season still ended on a high note in Dallas when it won the draft lottery, securing the right to select projected top pick Cooper Flagg.
ESPN's Tim MacMahon also reported that Kidd could be a candidate for the Knicks role.
“I would not dismiss that possibility," he said in a recent podcast. "What I can comfortably say is there certainly have been major franchise decisions (in Dallas) that he was not on board with."
Kidd played the final season of his career with the Knicks in 2012-13 after spending the previous four-and-a-half years with the Mavericks.
Perhaps his coaching journey will follow a similar path.
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