Under the leadership of Tom Thibodeau, the New York Knicks and Chicago Bulls were perennial playoff teams. With the Knicks, most recently, Thibodeau coached them to four playoff appearances in five seasons,

New York is taking its time with the process, in part to see if the situation in Dallas with Jason Kidd changes.

Over the past two weeks, the Knicks have tried to chase several currently employed candidates for their head coaching vacancy. New York has been tied to multiple high-profile names, such as the Dallas Mavericks’ Jason Kidd and the Houston Rockets’ Ime Udoka. However, the Knicks’ requests to interview both candidates have since been denied.

Brunson, in particular, has known Thibodeau nearly his entire life. He was a young kid when his father, Rick, played for the Knicks for two seasons from 1998-2000. Thibodeau was a Knicks assistant at the time. And Rick Brunson later served as an assistant on Thibodeau’s staff with the Bulls and Timberwolves before reuniting again on the Knicks.