Atlanta Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer is reportedly "genuinely interested" in the vacant New York Knicks head coaching gig, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post.

"New York's his top choice," an NBA source told Berman. "If they offered him the job, he'd say yes. He wants to live in New York."

Budenholzer isn't interested in undergoing a long rebuild, while Atlanta is "adopting the blueprint set by the 'Trust The Process' Sixers," according to Berman. That suggests Atlanta intends to compile draft assets, draft and build around young stars, and avoid taking on prohibitive long-term contracts for middling veterans under general manager Travis Schlenk.

"There's a good chance Atlanta is not looking to win games the next two years," the source told Berman. "This wasn't Mike's decision. He didn't expect it. He doesn't want to lose games."

Budenholzer, 48, has gone 213-197 in five seasons at the helm in Atlanta, leading the team to four playoff berths. But the departures of Paul Millsap and Tim Hardaway Jr. in free agency and the trade of Dwight Howard to the Charlotte Hornets last summer began the bottoming-out of the Hawks. Budenholzer resigned as president of basketball operations last May and no longer has control over personnel decisions.

As for the Knicks, they've cast a wide net in their head-coaching search. The team has interviewed Budenholzer, Jerry Stackhouse, Mike Woodson, Mark Jackson, David Fizdale and Kenny Smith, per Berman, with interviews of David Blatt and James Borrego to come.

The Knicks have superstar Kristaps Porzingis to build around with solid complementary pieces (Hardaway and Enes Kanter, if he returns) and young players with potential (Frank Ntilikina and Emmanuel Mudiay) as well as a top-10 pick in this year's draft.

Budenholzer would join a Knicks team nearing the stage of its rebuild where competing for a playoff spot should become feasible. That may be a better fit for his skill set as a coach than a full-blown rebuild in Atlanta.

"He's an excellent coach and teacher," an NBA personnel director told Berman of Budenholzer. "He's really a student of the game and did a very good job developing young players. He's a good combo of disciplinarian and players coach. Doc Rivers isn't a bad comparison."