Shortly after the New York Knicks were eliminated by the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals, they decided to surprisingly fire head coach Tom Thibodeau after a five-year run at the helm.
Thibs took the Knicks to their first conference final in 25 years, but Leon Rose and James Dolan ultimately made the call to cut ties with the veteran boss, who will surely land a job elsewhere. That being said, it appears the players had their say in the decision as well.
Via SNY’s Ian Begley:
“According to SNY NBA Insider Ian Begley, player input during their end of season meetings with owner James Dolan in attendance was a factor in the ultimate decision to move on from Thibodeau.
Players were respectful of the veteran coach, who they have a great deal of respect and admiration for, but they also pointed out in those meetings that there were things Thibodeau did that could be improved.”
Thibodeau has always been respected across the NBA by players and coaches. But, behind the scenes, there were clearly some things the Knicks players didn’t love. That’s despite him bringing a level of playoff success to the organization that they haven’t seen in years.
The search now begins for their next coach, with Jason Kidd and Ime Udoka reportedly on their radar. The Houston Rockets have zero interest in even giving New York permission to speak with Udoka, while Kidd appears to be comfortable with the Dallas Mavericks. Michael Malone is another option after he was fired late in the season by the Denver Nuggets. He was previously an assistant for the Knicks.
New York has lots of candidates they can target, but this job doesn’t come without pressure. Thibodeau embraced that and did the best he could to help make NY a winning franchise again. It just wasn’t enough to help them end their 52-year championship drought.
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