Knicks could make 12-time All-Star NBA's first player-coach since 1979 | Sporting News

The New York Knicks might think way outside the box when they hire their next head coach.

After firing Tom Thibodeau on Tuesday, New York is expected to hire Thibs replacement soon the NBA draft is at the end of the month, and having a head coach before then would be ideal.

But who will the Knicks turn to? Did they already have a first choice in mind before firing Thibodeau? Has there been a backdoor agreement already put in place? These are all valid questions, and the next head coach of the Knickerbockers will be revealed quite soon.

But before then, NBA analysts and fans alike are free to speculate on all sorts of possibilities for Thibodeaus successor.

Follow The Sporting News on WhatsApp On Wednesday, CBS Sports Sam Quinn proposed a surprising and very original candidate to be the next head coach of the Knicks.

Im gonna throw out a wildcard name for the Knicks job: Chris Paul, Quinn said.

I doubt he'd take it.

It seems like he wants to keep playing.

But if he wants to coach, he's the clear candidate to make the next Kidd/Redick jump straight to a top job.

Obviously Leon Rose knows him quite well.

Quinns comparison of Paul to JJ Redick and Jason Kidd is interesting.

Redick was 37 when he retired from the NBA as a player and 39 when he was hired as head coach of the Lakers without any professional coaching experience to his name.

Kidds transition from playing to coaching was even faster.

Miraculously, Kidd retired from the NBA as a player at age 40 on June 3, 2013, and nine days later, Kidd was hired as head coach of the Brooklyn Nets.

Could Paul, 40, take a similar route? CP3 is currently an unrestricted free agent.

Based on his performance last season with the San Antonio Spurs, Paul could definitely decide to play another season and attract suitors in free agency.

Heres another wild idea: What if Paul decided he wanted to keep playing and coach? Imagine Paul as player-coach of the Knicks in 2025-26! There hasnt been a player-coach in the NBA since the 1978-79 season when Dave Cowens fulfilled the dual role for the Boston Celtics.

The player-coach role used to be much more common in the league 40 players in all have doubled as their teams head coach in NBA history.

If the trend was going to make a comeback, Paul would certainly be an outstanding player to get it started.

More NBA: Knicks urged to trade Karl-Anthony Towns for Suns All-Star in blockbuster deal.

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