Shams: New York Knicks Fire Head Coach Tom Thibodeau

[Knicks365247]

This has gone so incredibly badly that James Dolan has to be behind EVERYTHING in the process starting at firing Thibs.

**** James Dolan. **** the Knicks. I'm a Brooklyn Nets fan now.

[djsunyc]

Read on Twitter

[doogie_hauser]

This has really backfired/blown up in the faces of The Knicks

https://www.si.com/nba/josh-hart-harsh-message-tom-thibodeau-critics-wake-knicks-firing

Now it looks like the Knicks dressing room divided between pro and anti Thibs factions (Bill Simmons alluded a few weeks ago Mikal Bridges may have played a hand in getting Thibs fired)

They have botched this badly.

At this point Darvin Ham would reject their approach lol

[DusterBuster]

This has really backfired/blown up in the faces of The Knicks

https://www.si.com/nba/josh-hart-harsh-message-tom-thibodeau-critics-wake-knicks-firing

Now it looks like the Knicks dressing room divided between pro and anti Thibs factions (Bill Simmons alluded a few weeks ago Mikal Bridges may have played a hand in getting Thibs fired)

They have botched this badly.

At this point Darvin Ham would reject their approach lol

This whole saga reeks of overreaction. Dolan jumped the gun with this firing instead of taking time to really think it over. It's always been his flaw as an owner, he's too reactionary.

Then the subsequent coaching "search" has turned what could have just been an overreaction-but-moved-on storyline into a laughing stock. Seriously laughable to go after nothing but sitting active coaches in your search and then get rejected at every turn. It's so incredibly rare for coaches to be allowed to leave their current situations... even if it is THE KNICKS.

James is smelling his own farts a little too hard on this one.

No disrespect to my Knick friends, still got love for that team they created, but Dolan is a clown.

[djsunyc]

This has really backfired/blown up in the faces of The Knicks

https://www.si.com/nba/josh-hart-harsh-message-tom-thibodeau-critics-wake-knicks-firing

Now it looks like the Knicks dressing room divided between pro and anti Thibs factions (Bill Simmons alluded a few weeks ago Mikal Bridges may have played a hand in getting Thibs fired)

They have botched this badly.

At this point Darvin Ham would reject their approach lol

ny nba radio (mainly frank isola and scalabrine) are saying og complained as well. og also complained about his role when he was a raptor too.

[Dez]

Read on Twitter

So fire Thibs and look at Temu Thibs? Sounds about right.

[reload141]

This is turning into a real dumpster fire….

[Tony15]

This has really backfired/blown up in the faces of The Knicks

https://www.si.com/nba/josh-hart-harsh-message-tom-thibodeau-critics-wake-knicks-firing

Now it looks like the Knicks dressing room divided between pro and anti Thibs factions (Bill Simmons alluded a few weeks ago Mikal Bridges may have played a hand in getting Thibs fired)

They have botched this badly.

At this point Darvin Ham would reject their approach lol

ny nba radio (mainly frank isola and scalabrine) are saying og complained as well. og also complained about his role when he was a raptor too.

OG’s a nice player, but really?! Him?! C’mon man.


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[Dominator83]

This change was needed.

He was out-coached by Carlisle. They had their entire team healthy for this playoff run and losing 4-2 to the Pacers is not an accomplishment, but a huge disappointment.

Glad this organization is serious about winning and not letting sentimentality get in the way of decision making. Thibs is the type of coach to make your team competitive again, but doesn’t have the flexibility or the intuitive in game decision making in high pressure situations. The first 2 games were lost by the slimmest of margins, and that’s where top tier coaching matters the most.

Thanks Thibs for making this team respectable again, but a new voice was definitely needed.

You mean the same Pacers team that's giving OKC a very hard time right now ? By that token , I guess Daigneault should get fired too!

Oh I love how you waited to pull this out when you literally couldn’t point out any of the awful decisions Thibs made in that series to cost them the first 2 games of that series.

There’s literally no point trying to debate with fans like you.

Do you honestly think the next coach will get them further ? Because if that's the standard, then it's finals or bust. Thibs got as far as possible with that roster. Unless there's a major trade that shakes up the team dynamic, and it's more or less the same roster , i guarantee the new coach won't do better.

[shmeakone]

Just call Rajon Rondo and call it a day

[azcatz11]

It is interesting Knicks are having this public repudiation by different coaches' organizations. It is HIGHLY UNUSUAL for a team to go after a sitting HC of another team in this fashion - out in public. I think Knicks' front office has an agenda in this line of pursuit. They have another candidate in mind. A candidate with less than stellar record. Whom they will hire after an exhausting humiliating public search and say "look, we tried to get the best coaches out there, but they are simply not available. This is the best available coach we can hire. We will try to win a championship with him or her."

This doesn't really make sense. There are a few available coaches that would be seen as good enough hires.

Unless they go totally off the map, they are going to get someone they can easily spin as quality.

That's what I'm saying - it doesn't make sense that they are publicly going after coaches with current jobs and getting rejected. They are setting the fans up for a less than ideal hire.

You would think they would have a coached lined up already after firing Thibs...the whole thing is a bit bizarre to me. Maybe some handshake negotiations behind the scenes before they canned thibs.

[playoffs]

I hear Thibs is on the market now. They should consider hiring him.

[-Luke-]

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The New York Knicks asked for permission to speak to Mike Brown and Taylor Jenkins but were turned down by their wives.

[kivancb]

https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/280761/Billy-Donovan-To-Knicks-Considered-More-Plausible-Than-Other-Employed-Coaches

That would be a very Knicksy move, I'll give em that.

[Zenzibar]

This has gone so incredibly badly that James Dolan has to be behind EVERYTHING in the process starting at firing Thibs.

**** James Dolan. **** the Knicks. I'm a Brooklyn Nets fan now.

Fk outta here then

[AFM]

I heard Randy Wittman is available

[Blame Rasho]

Just hire Latrell Sprewell and see how it goes…

[prophet_of_rage]

I'll let the Minny fans speak to their grievances but when we hired him they were aghast and have largely been silent since the firing. They don't miss him the way that Bulls fans miss him. Thibs is a great coach and there's a lot he's right about but wears out his welcome in all of his stops because he's seemingly oblivious to his limitations and not willing to work on it. With more coming out, it's clear that happened in NY. There's not a way to move forward when your management team loses their working relationship like that. Notably, the stuff that management is frustrated about (minutes, communication, inflexibility) is the same stuff that stuck to him in other locations.

Knicks still need to make a great hire to not lose ground but they weren't about to move forward with Thibs. We would have soon reached the stage where things become untenable and a distraction.

Think all that tracks. It seems maybe (and they can speak for themselves) that a lot of MN gripes are about bad FO decisions, but nothing unique about coaching-related weaknesses that as you said- have been a bone of contention across all 3 stops.

So I think MN had a unique experience and it would be natural that they wouldn’t immediately think of the job components (personnel decisions vs coaching) as separate entities. I would theorize that there was nothing egregious or new from a coaching perspective.

You mentioned him, but ANT is also humongous. Getting #1 overall and having that player be truly worthy of that spot makes a fanbase forget a lot. Had they gone for Wiseman or LaMelo…

Then the whole Jimmy thing. Though I’ve contended Jimmy has been generally correct about other players (eg - Simmons, Wiggins), I totally get his methods are completely abrasive and disruptive. It’s just a bizarre, bizarre history.

It’s no wonder with recent luck (Ant) and success + that crazy Butler situation that Wolves fans don’t pine for those days even if Thibs did his usual solid to strong coaching job.

They definitely could have mucked around in the mire for longer without Ant. Finch is also a solid coach.

I've called Jimmy The Larry Brown of Players but The Thibs of Players might be even more spot on. He's intense and uncompromising and that's great right up until the point where it isn't anymore.

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It's too bad because Thibs is so close to just being one of those rare coaches you can install and walk away from for 10 years while he coaches you to good results. Apparently Brunson and Hart were still very much on board with him.

They got to do whatever with him. Thr rest of the Knicks were not happy.

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[Zenzibar]

You mean the same Pacers team that's giving OKC a very hard time right now ? By that token , I guess Daigneault should get fired too!

Oh I love how you waited to pull this out when you literally couldn’t point out any of the awful decisions Thibs made in that series to cost them the first 2 games of that series.

There’s literally no point trying to debate with fans like you.

Do you honestly think the next coach will get them further ? Because if that's the standard, then it's finals or bust. Thibs got as far as possible with that roster. Unless there's a major trade that shakes up the team dynamic, and it's more or less the same roster , i guarantee the new coach won't do better.

It's not just about the FInals my guy. Thibs stubborness with not playing players is cringe and even Mikal called him out about this. For example, Thibs, w not only wouldn't play Obi Toppin while he was here, but would regularly embarrass him in front of fans. Bring him in and take him out after a single bad rotation or if Obi was cooking would turn him off by benching him. Obi was Leon Rose's pick and that wasn't a good look.

Precious Achiuwa was available for a good minutes when KAT would be battling with injuries and fouls but would use Josh Hart until he was running on fumes. Thibs didn't use Shamet or Delon Wright at all, during the Celtics or Detroit series, when they both were playing super well going into the playoffs.

I loved the Thibs hiring, and super appreciative about the culture he helped build. But my man has a history of clashing with either ownership or management throughout his coaching career. It's not just on the sidelines, it's also the collaboration within the organization that ultimately determines the coaches fate.

[Ssj16]

Lollll Thibs ran his course, it was actually very refreshing that the Knicks didn’t take the safe route, the Dolan lead Knicks would of and ran it back. Not losing any sleep over the Knicks trying to interview guys.

Regardless they need to hire a first timer and a veteran staff behind … at least that’s my hope


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Even if this is true, which I believe their process for trying to get a new coach has been horrible at best.
It looks like there is no real coherent plan involved.