Tim_Hardawayy wrote:BigGargamel wrote:Since when is an owner firing a coach breaking news?
Its not but I think some people just want to tie anything bad to Dolan, since he was largely responsible for the disaster that was the Knicks of the 2000-2020 era.
I personally think firing Thibs was the wrong move (they overachieved and if anything, KAT is the guy that you could sell high on and do something with). There was a Bulls fan who had a good point, people have created this idea in their heads that Thibs can only be a coach for development and can't win with talent, but he's never really been given talent, he just gets teams to overachieve and they go back to sucking after he leaves (Bulls, T-Wolves, Knicks TBD).
I think it was absolutely true with the Bulls that he was the one holding it all together. There's an argument that he was responsible for some of the players falling apart but it was also pretty clear that he was holding together a failing franchise.
Minnesota was much more complicated in that Jimmy Butler forced his way out and this was in part due to the roster and situation that Manager Thibs had assembled. Then, the following season they were decimated by injuries and tanked.
Notably, there are not a lot of Wolves fans clamoring that Thibs' removal is going to set the Knicks back decades. After an unfortunate stint with Ryan Saunders they got Finch and new management/ownership (ok, and some good fortune in getting Edwards too) and are on great footings. I don't think they'd go back.
I think the answer for us is somewhere in the middle. Thibs is an excellent coach but the Knicks have healthy talent which wasn't the case in previous departures. Another solid coach should be able to get good results from this group. It would take a GREAT hire to improve substantially though.