New York

Knicks

New York swapped picks with the Clippers, which means Sanders will return to California. After four seasons at Cal Poly, Sanders made the move to Reno for his final season of college basketball. The 6-foot-6 guard averaged 15.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.2 three-pointers in 31.7 minutes per game, shooting 46 percent from the field and 79.5 percent from the foul line last season. While Sanders has excellent size and instincts for a playmaker, his athleticism does not jump off the tape, and there is still work for him to do as a perimeter shooter. The 23-year-old will likely struggle to crack the Clippers’ rotation. The Knicks also acquired the draft rights to Luka Mitrovic, who was the 60th overall pick in 2015.

Borrego is currently the associate head coach of the Pelicans under Willie Green. The 47-year-old Borrego was the Hornets’ head coach for four seasons before he was fired after the 2021-22 season. Borrego is the fourth known person to interview with the Knicks joining Mike Brown, Taylor Jenkins and Micah Nori. The Knicks are still looking for a new coach after parting ways with Tom Thibodeau shortly after losing in the Eastern Conference finals.

The Knicks have already been denied from speaking with five current head coaches and appear to be shifting their focus to candidates they don’t need permission to interview. Brown, who last coached the Sacramento Kings, and Jenkins, who was with the Memphis Grizzlies, both fit that bill. Amick reports there could be more names joining them on the Knicks’ list, which is still yet to be finalized. The Knicks are the only head coaching vacancy in the NBA at the moment and appear in no rush to hire a new coach after parting ways with Tom Thibodeau last week.

The count of interview requests the Knicks have had denied is up to five, with Donovan joining Chris Finch, Ime Udoka, Jason Kidd and Quin Snyder. On one hand, the Knicks are doing their due diligence in seeing what coaches around the league they could potentially speak with. On the other hand, New York is repeatedly getting the door slammed in its face. The Knicks are the only NBA without a head coach at the moment and should be in no rush to fill the position just a week after parting ways with Tom Thibodeau.

Another one bites the dust. On Tuesday, Charania reported that Chris Finch, Ime Udoka and Jason Kidd were all blocked from interviewing with the Knicks by their respective teams. Now Snyder joins this seemingly ever-growing list. At some point, the Knicks will have a new head coach. However, in the week after Tom Thibodeau was let go, New York only has rejection letters.

One year after signing a three-year extension, Thibodeau is out as head coach of the Knicks. New York had back-to-back 50-win seasons and made the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 25 years under Thibodeau, but the team is looking for a new voice to help the organization get over the hump after five years with coach Thibs. The Knicks’ pursuit of a championship for the first time since 1973 will begin this offseason with the search for a new coach.

Brunson took the Knicks as far as they could go this year. In a must-win situation on the road in Game 6, the 28-year-old point guard faced the toughest Pacers defense he’d seen all series. Brunson’s 19 points were the lowest total he had in the series. He turned the ball over five times and was -18 in 34 minutes as the Knicks season came to an end in Game 6. Brunson had a number of accomplishments this year such as being honored by the All-NBA team, Clutch Player of the Year, and taking the Knicks as far in the playoffs as they’ve been in 25 years. While Brunson was excellent in these playoffs, his supporting cast wasn’t enough for the Knicks to make the Finals. New York will head into the offseason with questions surrounding the direction of the team after falling short in the playoffs once again.

Hart came off the bench again as he has for the past three games now. The 30-year-old shooting guard continues to play heavy minutes despite his ouster from the starting lineup. Hart had perhaps his biggest impact of the series in this game as he scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. It’s likely the Knicks will continue to roll with Mitchell Robinson in the starting lineup in Game 6, though Hart should still play at least 30 minutes off the bench.

Towns came through for the Knicks again in Game 5 despite playing through a knee injury. The 29-year-old power forward had 24 points as he was able to be Jalen Brunson’s running mate yet again in this series. Towns and Brunson became the first teammates to each score at least 20 points in the first five games of a Conference Finals since Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal in 2002. Despite the injury, Towns played well and seems poised for another big game on the road as the Pacers host Game 6 on Saturday.