Quin

Snyder

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.

The Hawks hold the first overall pick for the first time in the lottery era (since 1985), and this will also be the first time they select first overall since 1975. This is a crucial offseason for the franchise, as the Trae Young/Dejounte Murray partnership has not been as productive as anticipated. This draft is nowhere near as predictable as last year’s, with multiple prospects in play to go first overall. Alex Sarr, a versatile forward from France, and Zaccharie Risacher, a playmaking wing also from France, are two of the elite prospects who will be discussed often between now and late June. Houston, Washington, San Antonio, and Detroit round out the top five.

The Hawks, who fired Nate McMillan during the All-Star break, are bringing Snyder back to Atlanta on a five-year deal. Before becoming head coach of the Jazz, Snyder was a member of Mike Budenholzer’s staff in Atlanta. The Hawks have underachieved this season, and bringing in Snyder now gives him the opportunity to see if he can make a run with this group while also evaluating them for the future. Interim coach Joe Prunty led the Hawks to wins over the Cavaliers and Bucks this weekend.

Jacque Vaughn will act as Brooklyn’s head coach against Chicago on Tuesday and probably until they decide on a more permanent solution. Udoka was an assistant with Brooklyn before taking Boston’s head coaching gig last season. He is suspended for this season after engaging in inappropriate workplace behavior, but Woj’s report indicates that Boston would let him take another job if he were offered one. Snyder’s success in Utah would make him another top candidate.

Allen joined Dwane Casey’s staff in Detroit last summer, and now he’s one of the handful of candidates for the head coaching job for the Utah Jazz. The Jazz are beginning first-round interviews over Zoom in the next few days, but Allen wasn’t the only one to be confirmed for an interview today. The Jazz also received permission to interview Jason Terry for the gig, who currently coaches in the G-League but is an NBA Champion and former Sixth Man of the Year. Expect plenty more names to pop up for the job as the replacement for Quin Snyder has to be nearly perfect after the Jazz have disappointed more often than not in the last few postseasons.

While the Jazz did hold out hope that Snyder, who recently underwent hip surgery, would stay on board for his ninth season, the decision to move on does not come as a major surprise. It was reported less than a week ago that Snyder wasn’t guaranteed to return for the 2022-23 season, and that’s how things will reportedly play out. The timing isn’t great as far as the Jazz are concerned, as other head coaching vacancies have already been filled. Utah was consistently one of the NBA’s best offensive teams during Snyder’s tenure, so his exit will definitely impact the fantasy prospects of players such as stars Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert.

He’s been with the Jazz for eight years and while it sounds like both sides are pushing for him to return, a deal may not be reached. The Jazz has reportedly offered to extend Snyder’s current contract, which has two years left including his option for the 2023-24 season, but an agreement has yet to be reached. It also isn’t clear if Snyder would be willing to finish out his final two years without an extension.

Snyder entered protocols on January 30th. Since then, the Jazz have gone 2-1, with the loss coming without Donovan Mitchell in the lineup. Utah will welcome their coach back to the bench on Monday against the Knicks.

Snyder will need to quarantine for at least the next five days, so assistant coach, Alex Jensen will be the acting head coach until Snyder returns. Quin is now the 18th head coach this season to be forced into quarantine due to COVID-19.

Thibs helped take a 21-45, bottom-dwelling Knicks team to their first playoff berth in eight years with a top-4 finish out East with a record of 41-31 this season, and he did so without the Knicks overhauling their roster. He also helped Julius Randle take home the Most Improved Player Award, and this is Thibs second time bring home the Coach of the Year trophy. Monty Williams finished second place in the Coach of the Year race and actually had more first-place votes than Thibs, while Quin Snyder finished third.