Report: Rockets, Wolves rebuff Knicks' request to poach coaches
June 11 - The New York Knicks' coaching search is reportedly off to a sputtering start.
The Houston Rockets and Minnesota Timberwolves refused the Knicks' request to speak with head coaches Ime Udoka and Chris Finch, respectively, ESPN reported Tuesday night.
The news comes a week after former Villanova coach Jay Wright reportedly stated that he would not be a candidate to take over for the fired Tom Thibodeau.
According to multiple media reports, the Knicks also are eyeing Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd. However, The Athletic reported Tuesday that the Mavericks expect Kidd, 52, to remain with them. According to ESPN and The Athletic, the Knicks have not yet asked the Mavericks if they can talk to Kidd, whose contract runs two more seasons.
Thibodeau was ousted days after the Knicks made the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2000, with their playoff run including a six-game second-round victory over the reigning NBA champion Boston Celtics.
In five seasons with New York, Thibodeau, 67, compiled a 226-174 record, leading the team to the playoffs four teams. He also was head coach of the Chicago Bulls (2010-11 to 2014-15) and the Timberwolves (2016-17 to 2018-19) and owns a career mark of 578-420 during the regular season.
Udoka, 47, led the Celtics to the NBA Finals in his lone season as Boston's head coach in 2021-22. He was suspended by the team for the following season due to a violation of team policy after allegedly having an improper relationship with a female staffer and ultimately was fired. Udoka coached the Rockets the past two seasons, producing a combined 93-71 regular-season record.
Finch, 55, just finished his fifth season in charge in Minnesota and led the Timberwolves to the postseason for the fourth year in a row, including Western Conference finals appearances the past two years. He has a 209-160 regular-season coaching record.
--Field Level Media
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Daily Mail
an hour ago
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Riley Gaines defends her savage Simone Biles comeback after being confronted by Stephen A. Smith
Simone Biles ' apology to Riley Gaines hasn't stopped the conservative activist's ongoing media blitz. The former University of Kentucky swimmer who now speaks out against transgender athletes in female sports was a guest on Stephen A. Smith's podcast, where she doubled down on her own attacks, including references to the pedophile doctor who abused Biles. 'I stand by what I said 100 percent,' Gaines told Smith, who was admittedly uneasy about the comment. The issue began last week, when Gaines criticized a Minnesota high school softball team for relying on a transgender pitcher en route to a state title. It sparked a blistering response from Biles, 28, who first criticized Gaines' view and then compared her appearance to a man. Biles wrote: ''You should be uplifting the trans community and perhaps finding a way to make sports inclusive OR creating a new avenue where trans feel safe in sports. Maybe a transgender category IN ALL sports!! 'But instead… You bully them… One things for sure is no one in sports is safe with you around!!!!!' She then tweeted at Gaines again, saying: 'Bully someone your own size, which would ironically be a male.' Biles has since apologized for the comment, but before doing so, she received a pointed attack from Gaines, who invoked the memory of Nassar's abuse. 'All the horrific sexual abuse @Simmone_Biles witnessed and spoke out against caused by one man, yet believes women should be forced to strip naked in front of men to validate the man's feelings,' Gaines wrote on X. 'You know how many gold medals you'd have if your "inclusive" dream came true? Zero.' Gaines later doubled down, sharing a clip of Biles testifying before Senate about the abuse suffered at the hands of the former team doctor. Alongside it, she posted a screengrab of Biles' tweet. 'Simone Biles when she had to endure a predatory man Vs Simone Biles when other girls have to endure predatory men,' she wrote. While Gaines stood by her comments with Smith, she did provide more context for his audience. 'First of all, for clarity, I believe Larry Nassar is a monster, who should spend every single waking second for the rest of his life miserable and rotting away in prison,' Gaines said of the former Olympic gymnastics team doctor, who has been sentenced decades in prison for the sexual abuse of more than 150 athletes. 'Me and Simone certainly agree there.' She continued by comparing the sexual abuse Biles suffered at Nassar's hands to the 2022 NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships, when Gaines was forced to compete and share a locker room with transgender University of Pennsylvania swimmer, Lia Thomas. Biles attacked Gaines on X on Friday night after her latest remarks on trans athletes 'Context here… my own personal experience that I can speak to,' Gaines said. 'I don't know if you've ever been inside of a locker room facility, specifically a locker room on a pool deck. It's an open space. It's basically like a large square. "Does it get more perverted than standing in the shower, totally undressed, when a 6-foot-4 man approaches you, stands in the shower head next to you, undresses himself and watches you shower?' Gaines asked. 'That's the context I was drawing. To me, that is sexual abuse.' Thomas is listed in online records as being 6-foot-1. Smith didn't seem to entirely agree with the statement, but didn't criticize her remarks. "Riley I can push back but I won't even try,' he said. 'You made a very, very valid point. First of all, your personal experiences. Secondly, you're a lady and I am not. I really appreciate your point.' Gaines has forged a career as a political commentator for OutKick and Fox following her time as a swimmer, where she competed against trans athlete Lia Thomas. Her campaigning has won praise from Donald Trump, who welcomed her to the White House before signing the 'Keeping Men out of Women's Sports' executive order in February.
