Shams: New York Knicks Fire Head Coach Tom Thibodeau

[Enzo954]

Fired the coach that just got them to the Conference Finals for the first time since the 99'-00' season smh.

You didn't watch every game over the last few years like us die hard Knicks fans did. The guy can't adjust on the fly, has antiquated outdated plays, buried the bench the entire year, and role player types in the league have been saying they would never sign with NY because Thibs would never give them any burn. Even retired players on Podcasts are talking about how old school and outdated his coaching is. Any above average coach in this league could have got this squad to the ECF's this year. Thibs did absolutely nothing in that game 1 loss when the Knicks were up 15 with a few minutes to go and blew it. No timeouts, nothing.

[Doctor MJ]

Fired the coach that just got them to the Conference Finals for the first time since 99' smh.

My thought as well. Not something you should be doing unless you have a very specific vision for what comes next and you have specific coaching candidates in mind you think could do better.

It may well be the right call and still the Knicks may not get back to the Conference Finals this generation, in which case it won't seem right.

Well, the Knicks have surely done their exit interviews, and what the stars on the team think matters a lot; and they no doubt have some opinions on Johnnie Bryant if the Knicks move fast before Phoenix or another team hires him.

Very true. On the other hand, if you're firing Thibs, you're not really expecting to be able to hire someone else who will miraculously make KAT into a good defender or decision maker, right?

I do think there are better coaches than Thibs, but I don't know if any coach exists that can be expected to solve the KAT issue, and the franchise is probably stuck with KAT now.

Further, well and good to say that Thibs runs his guys into the ground, but from a perspective of improving depth, well, this wasn't a situation where the Knicks Big 5 starting lineup won all matchups and the team just lost because of bench issues. Out of all their 10 main lineups in this post-season, their Big 5 had the worst +/- with -7.4. By contrast, if we do the same thing for other teams that went deep (Indy, OKC, Min), they were all positive.

I think the Knicks franchise has to get their head around the fact that they really don't have a Top 4 level Big 5, despite the fact that they are paying those guys enough that just those 5 salaries will surpass the salary cap next year, and when you do that and fail to win a chip, it's really on the FO rather than the coach.

As I said before: This was a great year for the Knicks and they should be over the moon about it given what a laughing stock they were for 20 years...but right now it looks like that's not how they feel at all and while I applaud ambitious goals, scapegoating your coach when you just went further than you should have expected to go with your core is a path that can easily take you back to being an overpriced lottery team.

Not predicting that any time soon, but I worry the FO drinking their own Kool-Aid is a bigger concern than Thibs coaching was.

[durden_tyler]

As i see it, KAT's individual defensive issues will not be solved by Thibs or any coach overnight, might as well tap more into his offensive prowess (Thibs not creative enough to do this) and that can happen with a new coach.

Good move i think.

[DaPessimist]

I think it's the right move. I'm not sure any coach will be capable of making this roster good enough defensively to win a title though. If Mikal and OG aren't going to be fully utilized for their offensive talent, one or both of them should be moved for depth and defense.

[ArksNetsSince99]

Fired the coach that just got them to the Conference Finals for the first time since the 99'-00' season smh.

You didn't watch every game over the last few years like us die hard Knicks fans did. The guy can't adjust on the fly, has antiquated outdated plays, buried the bench the entire year, and role player types in the league have been saying they would never sign with NY because Thibs would never give them any burn. Even retired players on Podcasts are talking about how old school and outdated his coaching is. Any above average coach in this league could have got this squad to the ECF's this year. Thibs did absolutely nothing in that game 1 loss when the Knicks were up 15 with a few minutes to go and blew it. No timeouts, nothing.

Without Thibs , Knicks will be a play in team next season , book it

He made them overachieving big time

[HMFFL]

Look out for John Calipari.

You’re joking right?

Dolan makes the final decisions in NY and he's always wanted to hire Calipari.

John Calipari would he an interesting add for viewership. I would watch.

[DaPessimist]

As i see it, KAT's individual defensive issues will not be solved by Thibs or any coach overnight, might as well tap more into his offensive prowess (Thibs not creative enough to do this) and that can happen with a new coach.

Good move i think.

If they keep this roster, this is definitely the path forward. With a faster, more balanced, and creative offense this Knicks roster will blow teams off the court. I don't think you're going to win a title with that strategy though.

[schnakenpopanz]

So many similarities between how Raptors fired Dwayne Casey.

1. Defensive team
2. Bad offensive system
3. Underperform again in the playoffs.
4. Heavy minutes on starters.

I think if the Knicks replace him with a good coach, they're about 1 solid trade away from the finals.

I think they need to start KAT at the power forward spot, Robsinon at the center. They need to trade two of Bridges / Hart / OG and get a solid star.

Josh Hart + Mikal Bridges --> Kevin Durant. Everyone is happy

[ArksNetsSince99]

So many similarities between how Raptors fired Dwayne Casey.

1. Defensive team
2. Bad offensive system
3. Underperform again in the playoffs.
4. Heavy minutes on starters.

I think if the Knicks replace him with a good coach, they're about 1 solid trade away from the finals.

I think they need to start KAT at the power forward spot, Robsinon at the center. They need to trade two of Bridges / Hart / OG and get a solid star.

Josh Hart + Mikal Bridges --> Kevin Durant. Everyone is happy

Knicks paid more FRPicks for Mikal than Suns paid for Durant , won’t happen , he is their prized possession

[schnakenpopanz]

So many similarities between how Raptors fired Dwayne Casey.

1. Defensive team
2. Bad offensive system
3. Underperform again in the playoffs.
4. Heavy minutes on starters.

I think if the Knicks replace him with a good coach, they're about 1 solid trade away from the finals.

I think they need to start KAT at the power forward spot, Robsinon at the center. They need to trade two of Bridges / Hart / OG and get a solid star.

Josh Hart + Mikal Bridges --> Kevin Durant. Everyone is happy

Knicks paid more FRPicks for Mikal than Suns paid for Durant , won’t happen , he is their prized possession

Kevin Durant the gift that keeps on taking - the ife and fun out of your franchise

[knicksfan974]

Fired the coach that just got them to the Conference Finals for the first time since the 99'-00' season smh.

Any coach could have done it with this stacked roster. Looks like G1 collapse with Thibs doing nothing to stop it was what eventually got him fired. Without that horrible ending the Knicks could be now preparing for the Finals. Anyway, it was painfully obvious so many times during this season that he just was not the right coach for this group. Good call by the Knicks and now suddenly expectations for next year skyrocketed.Big season coming for the Knicks!

[Capn'O]

Seen this play out before. Thibs gets the most out his scoring PGs and team defense. Pacers were just a better roster 1-12. They steamrolled the Bucks and Cavs. Might've had some benefit with opponent's injuries, but so did NYK with the Celtics.

The only silver lining is there are some good coaches available, but I don't think their personalities will be way different than Thibs'.

Its the circle of Thibodeau. He gets a mediocre team to overachieve. Fanbase and front office are convinced their mediocre players are really stars if they just had a more player friendly coach. Thibs gets fired. Team slides back to mediocrity or worse.

Fred Hoiberg is available. I wonder if the Knicks go that route.

It could be Hoiberg... or Phil after Collins. You've seen both sides of this.

[knicksfan974]

I get that Thibs is unpopular (Knicks fans seem happy with this move) but did the Knicks really underachieve this year?

They most certainly underachieved in ECF, and that's on Thibs. And that got him fired.

In an unrelated news, Inter Milan did manage to get to thr Champions League Final, but now the coach is out after 5-0 trashing by PSG.

If you fail in the biggest moment then you must pay the price.

[Patsfan1081]

Fired the coach that just got them to the Conference Finals for the first time since the 99'-00' season smh.

You didn't watch every game over the last few years like us die hard Knicks fans did. The guy can't adjust on the fly, has antiquated outdated plays, buried the bench the entire year, and role player types in the league have been saying they would never sign with NY because Thibs would never give them any burn. Even retired players on Podcasts are talking about how old school and outdated his coaching is. Any above average coach in this league could have got this squad to the ECF's this year. Thibs did absolutely nothing in that game 1 loss when the Knicks were up 15 with a few minutes to go and blew it. No timeouts, nothing.

There’s always going to be complaints, the coach is the easiest guy to blame after a loss. If it’s not one thing it’s another. He ends up playing his bench more than he’s an idiot for not relying on his starters more. Results should be at the forefront.

[Patsfan1081]

I get that Thibs is unpopular (Knicks fans seem happy with this move) but did the Knicks really underachieve this year?

They most certainly underachieved in ECF, and that's on Thibs. And that got him fired.

In an unrelated news, Inter Milan did manage to get to thr Champions League Final, but now the coach is out after 5-0 trashing by PSG.

If you fail in the biggest moment then you must pay the price.

Underachieved? Not a single thing person had them making it that far.

[Wingy]

Seen this play out before. Thibs gets the most out his scoring PGs and team defense. Pacers were just a better roster 1-12. They steamrolled the Bucks and Cavs. Might've had some benefit with opponent's injuries, but so did NYK with the Celtics.

The only silver lining is there are some good coaches available, but I don't think their personalities will be way different than Thibs'.

Its the circle of Thibodeau. He gets a mediocre team to overachieve. Fanbase and front office are convinced their mediocre players are really stars if they just had a more player friendly coach. Thibs gets fired. Team slides back to mediocrity or worse.

Fred Hoiberg is available. I wonder if the Knicks go that route.

It could be Hoiberg... or Phil after Collins. You've seen both sides of this.

The Knicks don’t have Michael Jeffrey Jordan. A good many coaches could’ve won titles with that guy, and potentially even Collins himself.

People are trying to draw these parallels (Jackson, Kerr), but I can’t squint and see the path for this significant remaining juice and untapped potential with this Knicks group.

There is some, don’t get me wrong…but I definitely get the feeling like some people’s hopes are way too high.

[Prez]

Take notes from the Bucks - you can fire a good coach in hopes of something better, and it's totally possible it does get better. But it's also super possible it gets colossally **** worse. Thankfully for Knicks fans, unlike the Bucks organization I don't think the current Knicks organization is ran by dudes who sniff paint.

[knicksfan974]

I get that Thibs is unpopular (Knicks fans seem happy with this move) but did the Knicks really underachieve this year?

They most certainly underachieved in ECF, and that's on Thibs. And that got him fired.

In an unrelated news, Inter Milan did manage to get to thr Champions League Final, but now the coach is out after 5-0 trashing by PSG.

If you fail in the biggest moment then you must pay the price.

Underachieved? Not a single thing person had them making it that far.

On paper the Knicks had a stronger roster than the Pacers. That ECF series loss is on Thibs, and obviously the Knicks FO agrees.

[tamaraw08]

I could see them hiring Malone

I can't help but wonder, Does Giannis like Malone?

Giannis vetoed Nurse so probably not

Got it, so who does Giannis want for a coach then?
Asking for a friend James D. who lives in New York

[JayTWill]

My thought as well. Not something you should be doing unless you have a very specific vision for what comes next and you have specific coaching candidates in mind you think could do better.

It may well be the right call and still the Knicks may not get back to the Conference Finals this generation, in which case it won't seem right.

Well, the Knicks have surely done their exit interviews, and what the stars on the team think matters a lot; and they no doubt have some opinions on Johnnie Bryant if the Knicks move fast before Phoenix or another team hires him.

Very true. On the other hand, if you're firing Thibs, you're not really expecting to be able to hire someone else who will miraculously make KAT into a good defender or decision maker, right?

I do think there are better coaches than Thibs, but I don't know if any coach exists that can be expected to solve the KAT issue, and the franchise is probably stuck with KAT now.

Further, well and good to say that Thibs runs his guys into the ground, but from a perspective of improving depth, well, this wasn't a situation where the Knicks Big 5 starting lineup won all matchups and the team just lost because of bench issues. Out of all their 10 main lineups in this post-season, their Big 5 had the worst +/- with -7.4. By contrast, if we do the same thing for other teams that went deep (Indy, OKC, Min), they were all positive.

I think the Knicks franchise has to get their head around the fact that they really don't have a Top 4 level Big 5, despite the fact that they are paying those guys enough that just those 5 salaries will surpass the salary cap next year, and when you do that and fail to win a chip, it's really on the FO rather than the coach.

As I said before: This was a great year for the Knicks and they should be over the moon about it given what a laughing stock they were for 20 years...but right now it looks like that's not how they feel at all and while I applaud ambitious goals, scapegoating your coach when you just went further than you should have expected to go with your core is a path that can easily take you back to being an overpriced lottery team.

Not predicting that any time soon, but I worry the FO drinking their own Kool-Aid is a bigger concern than Thibs coaching was.

I agree the Knicks have issues with their starting 5 that another coach may not be able to fix but part of the problem was that Thibs continued trying to play them together as much as possible and has been struggling to make that 5 man unit work well together since the beginning of the New Year.

He did not invest time in the young players to put them in a better position for next year. He did not invest much time in the experienced bench players to build their chemistry with the team. He put as many minutes as possible into a lineup that wasn't working even when there were other lineup combinations that clearly worked better together. Some of that wasn't his fault due to some injuries throughout the year but some of that was just Thibs being Thibs.

I understand they may be politics behind starting and playing your highest paid players more but Mikal actually went to the press and said he did not need to play so many minutes and guys from the bench can get some more minutes. I think I heard Hart went to Thibs and said he was willing to come off of the bench for someone else to start and Thibs still kept starting and closing with the same lineup most of the time.

In game 1 of the ECF with the Knicks growing the lead to double digits with Brunson and Mikal on the bench Thibs for some reason went back to the one lineup that his been struggling to play together for months and was already -10 on the court together in that game before the 4th quarter. A new coach may not have more success but I hope they have the willingness to try something new way earlier than Thibs did instead of reverting back to what they are most comfortable with even when it is obviously failing.

I wasn't a huge fan of the roster the front office assembled but they have been changing the roster for years under Thibs yet he continues to do the same things with different players and skillsets. There is no real point of changing the roster once again without changing the coach. Yes, they could have made the finals if the team did not collapse at the end of game 1 of the ECF but they also could have lost in round 1 if the Pistons did not collapse in game 1 of the 1st round and the ref didn't swallow his whistle in game 4 on the obvious Hart foul.