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The New York Knicks did not take long to answer the question of whether they would be aggressive in the offseason or count on continuity and familiarity to bolster this year’s overachieving team. They may be blowing the whole thing up.
In a stunning move, the Knicks have fired coach Tom Thibodeau, overriding a three-year contract extension he got last year, which hasn’t even kicked in yet. Thibodeau was widely considered to be in trouble heading into the playoffs; many felt the team had stagnated under his leadership, though he led them to their best regular-season record in decades. But Thibodeau was thought to have salvaged his job when the Knicks beat the Pistons and then, much more unexpectedly, the Celtics. Hence most people’s surprise at Tuesday’s news.
Thibodeau’s firing initially sounded like a possible case of owner Jim Dolan’s meddling, which is basically every Knicks fan’s nightmare scenario. But it was apparently the decision of team president Leon Rose, who felt, according to the New York Post’s Stefan Bondy, “it is in the best interest of getting to the next level of winning a championship.”
This shouldn’t be that shocking. Beyond the fact that Thibodeau has been on shaky ground, the pattern is also familiar: He helps a team out of the doldrums, then gets the boot once his methods (namely, playing his starters an obscene number of minutes) begin to lose their effectiveness and grind down his players. This is what happened to him both in Chicago and Minnesota. This is the whole Thibs deal.
Yet when Jalen Brunson — the unquestioned Knicks leader, so ingrained into the decision-making process of the team that his dad is an assistant coach — was asked about Thibs’s status after the loss to the Pacers, he said, “Is that a real question right now? You just asked me if I believe he’s the right guy. Yes. Come on.” That was just three days ago.
It will be fascinating to see who replaces Thibs — some have suggested former Nuggets coach Michael Malone, who led Denver to the title just two years ago, though his style is actually similar. But it may be even more fascinating to see if this is just a coach firing or a sign of something larger. The Knicks have huge roster questions after their Conference Finals loss, specifically about Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns. Does Rose think a new coach will be able to get the most out of them? Or does he have still larger changes in mind? What could have been a very stable Knicks offseason is now anything but.
But the body is still warm, so let’s make sure to praise Thibs before tossing him aside. The Knicks had gone through seven consecutive losing seasons before hiring Thibodeau after missing the 2020 bubble. He put together four winning seasons in his five full years and is the first coach to take the team to the conference finals since Jeff Van Gundy 25 years ago. The Knicks have had 12 coaches in that time, none of which got even close. Thibs’s time may have come. But he has earned his status as one of most important, and best, coaches in Knicks history.
What happens next — whom they replace him with, who stays and goes from this roster — will tell us everything about where the Knicks see themselves. But one thing is clear: The Knicks are in their title-or-bust period. The era of moral victories is over. The next coach better win the Knicks a title or he will be the next to get the ax. Perhaps quickly.
