Mary Altaffer/Associated Press

The New York Knicks reportedly spoke with LeBron James' agent, Rich Paul, before hiring David Fizdale as their new head coach Monday.

According to Marc Berman of the New York Post, Knicks president Steve Mills and general manager Scott Perry reached out to Paul to discuss Fizdale rather than talking to James, perhaps to avoid potential tampering.

During LeBron's four-year run with the Miami Heat, Fizdale was one of his assistant coaches, and they reportedly got along well.

Per Berman, Mills and Perry said they spoke with several people who worked with and played under Fizdale before hiring him.

With help from Fizdale, LeBron led the Heat to the NBA Finals on four occasions and won two championships before returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Fizdale led the Memphis Grizzlies to the playoffs with a 43-39 record in 2016-17 as their head coach, but he was fired this season after a 7-12 start.

New York entered the head-coaching search after parting ways with Jeff Hornacek, who went 60-104 in two seasons at the helm.

Fizdale will look to take the Knicks back to the playoffs for the first time since 2012-13.

While New York isn't considered a front-runner, hiring Fizdale could potentially put the Knicks in the mix to sign James this offseason if he opts out of his contract as expected.