While the Knicks want interim head coach Mike Miller to finish out the season, the team has Jeff Van Gundy, Mark Jackson, and Tom Thibodeau among the names on their "short list" to replace Miller in-season if necessary, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic.
SNY's Ian Begley reported earlier this week that Jackson and Jason Kidd have support within the Knicks, but noted that there are members of the organization who remain wary about the potential of hiring Jackson.
Thibodeau, who was a Knicks assistant coach from 1996-2004, has been mentioned as a potential candidate before, including in 2016, when Begley reported that owner James Dolan was "intrigued" by the idea of hiring him.
On Thursday, Van Gundy -- who was head coach of the Knicks from 1996-2001 after serving as an assistant beginning in 1989 -- weighed in on what the team needs to do in order to achieve success with their next full-time head coach.
"It's been constant change and unfortunately that amount of change has led to an inconsistency of philosophy, of belief, and I just think they have to settle and give whoever they pick next the opportunity to grow and evolve," Van Gundy said during Mike Krzyzewski's Basketball & Beyond with Coach K SiriusXM show.
"So many of these projects where you're trying to turn a franchise around, they're submarined because of a lack of patience," Van Gundy added. "Everybody says, 'We're all in to the rebuild,' and 'We're going to be patient,' and then halfway through they lose the stomach for it and think change is the answer."
While the Knicks' future at head coach is unknown, so is the fate of team president Steve Mills and GM Scott Perry.
The Athletic has reported that Mills will be reassigned or outright fired after the season. But sources told Begley that the situation remains fluid given the remote possibility of a turnaround from the Knicks.
Mills has multiple years left on his deal, as does Perry. There's also the possibility that MSG decision makers -- including Dolan -- could change their mind on Knicks leadership.