Post#15 » by MartyConlonJr » Thu Jun 12, 2025 6:54 pm
I guess it is reasonable to ask, coaches have been traded for picks in the past. You never know if you don't ask, and some good coaches that we assumed were safe were fired this season.
So if you ask a team that is considering removing the coach, and they know they could trade away their salary and possibly get compensation in picks rather than just eat the contract, it is worth a shot.
What looks bad is that they got outcoached by Rick Carlisle, a top coach, and said Tom Thibodeau is not the level of coach they need going forward, and fired him. The assumption should be that "a better coach is out there" and available to replace him.
By now asking for five coaches that are already head coaches and being rebuffed immediately, it looks like you will be left with what is on the pile that no longer looks like "a better coach is out there", it looks more like "I guess these guys will have to do", which is different than if they just went to Mike Malone and Taylor Jenkins etc initially.
I guess as long as Knicks know that either of those guys are better than Thibs, it is just optics, but it does look a little more desperate now.
I also think Dallas probably loved rebuffing Knicks on Jason Kidd after Knicks tampered to get Brunson and had to forfeit a 2nd round pick after the investigation that was clearly initiated by a Mavericks complaint. Not sure why the Knicks thought Dallas would play nice with them at all.