The New York Knicks are expected to strongly consider hiring Ed Pinckney as an assistant coach on Tom Thibodeau's staff.

Pinckney spent five seasons with Thibodeau in Chicago before joining him briefly in Minnesota. Pinckney was let go by the Wolves after the 2018-19 season months after Thibodeau was fired.

Tom Thibodeau was an assistant coach with the New York Knicks from 1996 until 2003.

"This a dream come true for me," Thibodeau said. "This is my dream job."

Thibodeau was fired by the Minnesota Timberwolves in January of 2019 and took the 19-20 season off.

"Maybe part of that is I grew up in Connecticut. My father, my family, we grew up as Knick fans," Thibodeau said during a Zoom press conference. "I think I experienced it during the '90s that there's no better place to be than Madison Square Garden. And so I love challenges, I love that city, I love the arena, I love the fans and I'm excited about the team."

Thibodeau is on a five-year deal with the Knicks.

Leon Rose took questions from the media for the first time since becoming president of the New York Knicks as the franchise introduced Tom Thibodeau as head coach.

“We have not set a timeline. We are taking it one day at a time. We felt Tom was that coach who can take us with development to becoming a perennial winner. That happens one step at a time,” Rose said. “At the moment we don’t know what the roster will be moving forward. We have decisions we have to make. The important thing is to instill the culture, focus on the development and take it from there.”

The Knicks have a seven-year playoff drought.

Thibodeau mentioned RJ Barrett and Mitchell Robinson as building blocks.

“I want to get around the players to work with them and get to know them better,” Thibodeau said. “Based on film, I really think RJ has a very bright future as does Mitchell Robinson. Those are two who stand out. But we have a lot of young talent. I don’t like to make qualifications on people until I get around them.”

The New York Knicks are expected to hire Mike Woodson in some capacity.

Woodson led the Knicks to a 54-28 record during the 12-13 season.

Woodson was an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Clippers between 2014 and 2018.

The New York Knicks are finalizing a five-year deal to make Tom Thibodeau the next head coach of the franchise, league sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

An agreement is expected in the near future.

Thibodeau was dismissed from the Wolves on January 6th, 2019.

Thibodeau was previously a client under current Knicks president Leon Rose at CAA. 

Jason Kidd is reportedly the favorite for the New York Knicks coaching job, sources told Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.

The news comes after contract talks with Tom Thibodeau have allegedly stalled.

The Knicks would choose some of Kidd's assistant coaches should he be named head coach.

Bondy adds that discussions with Thibodeau aren't dead, but have hit a snag over contract length.

The Knicks could also retain Mike Miller in lieu of Thibodeau.

The New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets have monitored the potential availability of Zach LaVine.

Sources tell SNY that both the Knicks and Nets have done background work on LaVine in case the Chicago Bulls make him available. 

LaVine can become a free agent in 2022.

The New York Knicks are not currently negotiating with any of their coaching candidates, nor have they offered any candidate a contract, league sources told Ian Begley of SNY.

There is a strong likelihood that they will continue conversations with multiple candidates through next week.

“They’re still exploring their options," sources told SNY.

Tom Thibodeau is considered the favorite for the position. 

The New York Knicks will reportedly hire at least one head-coaching candidate as an assistant coach, league sources told Ian Begley of SNY.

Tom Thibodeau is currently the favorite to be hired as head coach.

There is also support for both Mike Miller and Mike Woodson to be added to the staff regardless of the coach. 

Kenny Atkinson and Jason Kidd also are said to have support from within the organization. 

The New York Knicks were slow to respond to the murder of George Floyd and the subsequent protests that swept the world.

The Knicks issued a two-sentence statement, on June 9: "Every one of us has a role to play in creating a more just and equal society, where there is no racism, bigotry, violence or hate. We stand with all who act for positive change."

A number of Black executives, players, agents and others around the league who spoke to Bleacher Report found the Knicks' response disconcerting. 

"If you're going to have a diverse employment force, then in this situation you've got to represent them and speak out against this," said a Black team executive who has worked in the league for more than 20 years. "Otherwise, you're sending a message to them that you're ambivalent about it. Now you allow yourself to be questioned. And by the time you do come out and say it, then people doubt your sincerity."

"How hard is it to put out a statement?" said one agent from a high-profile firm. "What's going to be really interesting is the players that truly matter, the ones that are the upper echelon of the league, when they are free agents, how are they going to look at this?"

The same agent also said his clients were "flabbergasted" with the silence from the Knicks on the Black Lives Matter movement.

At least one key rotation player told team officials he "definitely wasn't happy with the Knicks" remaining silent on Floyd, according to a source who does business with the team. "I know there are others upset about it," he said.

Some have defended Dolan's record on race by noting how often he has hired Black executives from Isiah Thomas and Anucha Browne Sanders to Steve Mills, Scott Perry and Craig Robinson.

"He's always done right by Black people," said a former Garden employee who is Black. "Does it make up for the poor response? Not necessarily."