NBA coaching rumors: Knicks to wait to hire head coach until they can speak with Derek Fisher

If you are a New York Knicks fan, the search for a new head coach has been absolutely brutal. After losing out on Steve Kerr to the Golden State Warriors, the Knicks list of coaching candidates has not exactly featured the cream of the crop when it comes to available coaches.

What makes the coaching search even worse? There appears to be no end in site.

According to a report that surfaced in the wee hours of the morning on Monday, the Knicks are in no rush to hire a new head coach and they will be waiting until they get the opportunity to speak to Oklahoma City Thunder guard Derek Fisher about the opening.

From Marc Stein and Ramona Shelburne at ESPN:

"New York Knicks president Phil Jackson continues to send out signals that he’s in no rush to hire a coach until he can seriously discuss the position with Oklahoma City’s Derek Fisher, according to sources close to the process….Sources say that in addition to Fisher, the Knicks still have interest in Denver Nuggets coach Brian Shaw but do not currently plan to ask the Nuggets’ permission to speak with him. Because league rules restrict teams to offering only cash or draft picks as compensation for coaches, and not players, sources say New York fears it likely can’t meet the Nuggets’ demands if it were to try to get Shaw out of his contract."

By waiting for the Thunder to finish their postseason run, the New York Knicks coaching search could last until mid-June. That would obviously be longer than you would like to wait to fill such a big position, but if they can land Fisher, who seems to be the apple of their eye, it may be worth it.

Then again, if Fisher turns down the job, what is next?