The Knicks will interview Minnesota Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori for their vacant head-coaching job, as first reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania on Tuesday.
Nori is the third candidate to receive an official interview with the Knicks, joining veteran Mike Brown and former Memphis Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins.
Speculation also exists that New York is keeping tabs on Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd despite being denied an opportunity to interview him.
Nori, 51, has been the lead assistant in Minnesota since 2021 and a key member of a coaching staff that has led the Timberwolves to two straight Western Conference Finals appearances.
His focus is more on the defensive end, and he helped shape the Timberwolves into the NBA’s best defense last season — a unit that included now-Knicks big man Karl-Anthony Towns acting as a power forward rather than a center.
Towns’ defensive deficiencies, especially at the 5, were one of the key parts of New York’s downfall in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Indiana Pacers last month.
Nori has served as an assistant on NBA staffs since 2009, working with the Toronto Raptors, Sacramento Kings, Denver Nuggets, and Detroit Pistons before reuniting with Minnesota head coach Chris Finch. The two worked together with the Nuggets under Michael Malone, an NBA title-winning coach who is available for hire, but has not been considered by Leon Rose.
New York’s head-coaching search has become an arduous process after being denied interviews on multiple fronts, most notably Kidd and Houston Rockets boss Ime Udoka. They are currently the only team in the NBA without a head coach.
