After a report last week suggested that Tom Thibodeau topped the Knicks‘ wish list in their head coaching search, multiple updates since then have reiterated that Thibodeau looks like the frontrunner for the job.
Sources tell Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News that Thibodeau is the “heavy favorite” to become the Knicks’ next head coach. Bondy cautions that other candidates – including Mike Miller, Kenny Atkinson, and perhaps even John Calipari – are in play, but says there’s a belief that the position is Thibodeau’s to lose. A source tells The Daily News that Thibodeau is confident enough about his chances that he has already made calls about assembling a staff.
Citing Thibodeau’s longstanding relationship with new Knicks president of basketball operations Leon Rose, Marc Berman of The New York Post also says there’s an “excellent chance” that the team will zero in on Thibodeau when its head coaching search officially gets underway.
Additionally, Berman hears from sources that members of Thibodeau’s past Bulls and Timberwolves staffs will likely be interested in joining him in New York if he’s hired by the Knicks. Berman specifically cites Andy Greer, Larry Greer, and Dice Yoshimoto as coaches Thibodeau might look to bring with him if given the opportunity.
The Knicks’ search hasn’t begun in earnest yet, but as Berman points out, there’s a good chance that the club won’t part of a resumed NBA season — reports last week indicated that the league favors a 20-team or 22-team restart. If the NBA officially moves forward with a plan that excludes the Knicks, there would be little reason for the franchise to delay its head coaching search until after the resumption of the season.
Knicks basically started the rebuild in 2001
They play ping pong ball from 2014 to 2020
Now they need revolution
Rebuild is done. Win is only thing left
Warriors are the model for Knicks
Warriors go from 23 wins in 2013 to 73 wins in 2017
Draft Curry at 7, Klay at 11, Draymond at 35
Knicks have higher picks than Warriors
I just can’t wrap my head around why they’re so set on this guy. If you’re trying to build something, the last thing you want is a coach running those young players into the ground. Plus if you’re goal is to get a star, who’s jumping at the chance to come play in Thib’s system?
Couldn’t agree more. What has Thibs ever won on his own? And those with a voice say nothing good. He was a good assistant in Boston. Still the man and this Knick franchise belong together
It doesn’t mean Rookie coach is not good
For the past 5 years, 3 rookie coaches won the championships，4 rookie coaches make the nba finals
Last 2 summers, Knicks miss all 3 superstars in LeBron Durant Kawhi
This summer Knicks have a chance to sign Anthony Davis and next year sign Giannis
All 5 stars are free, no need to offer anything
Those stars aren’t coming to NY to play massive mintues, and have their bodies and careers wrecked by Thibs’ style of ball. If they go with Thibs, they either will have to trade for a star, or massively overpay for one of those pretty good, sometimes all-star types.
How many years and times will Knicks fans talk about signing Superstars? You guys have not done it. The best player you’ve gotten in the post Patrick Ewing Era is Carmelo Anthony, and that was done through a forced trade because he wanted money. And he’s a guy that would be the 2nd or 3rd guy on a legitimate championship contender – not the #1 guy.
The Knicks are not getting guys to go there until the incompetence is done.
And don’t try that “everyone wants to play in NY” or “everyone wants to play in the ‘Mecca of Basketball'”. Clearly they do not. And the playing in NY thing has been antiquated for a long time now since the rise in social media and growth of metropolitan cities in every state in the country, which resulted in players being able to play anywhere and market themselves and gain endorsements. Going into a meeting with a star who is a kid that grew up in Small Town, USA, who not only loves his hometown and area, probably isn’t fond of NY, and you tell him that NY is the best place to be and everywhere else sucks (including his hometown area where he and his family is comfortable), isn’t likely to work. And then when that’s the only selling point, when in his town or near his town is a metropolitan city that has an NBA team that is run more competently than the Knicks. And this is just this before we get into the other teams that are going after that kid trying to convince him to join them. You all went after LeBron and multiple free agents then, and failed on all off them before settling with Amare Stoudemire. The Knicks failed on Durant and Kyrie who both went to Brooklyn; you failed on Kawhi who went o LA; you failed again on LeBron who went to LA. Anthony Davis is in LA competing for a championship, and you think you’ll convince him to leave them for the Knicks? Say he chooses to leave LA, do you think he’ll pass up on other teams wanting him like the Bucks with Giannis; the Heat with their young roster; the Clippers with Kawhi and Paul; the Rockets with Harden and Westbrook; Boston; or even Davis’s hometown Bulls? Yes, I know there are cap situations with some of these teams, but we also know well run franchises find ways around that.
And Giannis? FYI – every contender or potential contender will be in on that. If he doesn’t win a ring in Milwaukee, view this image from 2010 like what was done with LeBron. Your favorite former coach, Pat Riley, sitting with Giannis on a yacht a few miles off the shore of South Beach, and they’re accompanied by Dwayne Wade, Alonzo Mourning, Chris Bosh, Udonis Haslem, and key current roster pieces discussing the “Heat Culture”. You think the Knicks are outdoing that? And that’s just one team.
Knicks need to get their draft picks and franchise right before they even thinking about attracting Superstars. The only way they attract any kind of star is one that is only about money, and not about winning (like Carmelo Anthony). Do you want more years of that or do you want the team built correctly?
Sign Coach Cal
Knicks can have 70 million cap room offseason
Sign free agents starting salary
Harrell 25 million
Morris 20 million
VanVleet 25 million
Draft Ball
Playoffs team
Haha you funny even though it doesn’t take much to make the playoffs if the nba especially the East the knicks are going no where unless the clown owner sells the team and no big star is going to play for him
Thibs I think wouldn’t be a great hire. Look at how he did with a young team in Minny.
Wiggins was terrible, LaVine got traded out, he brought it a bunch of vets (DRose, Gibson, Teague, etc). Then with Jimmy Butler the locker room got destroyed and he walk out of town.
Thibs is a old school coach. Makes players play high minutes, is a defensive minded coach, likes physical basketball, never been a coach to like much 3 point shooting.
I think that’s not what the Knicks need right now. Barrett isn’t a tough old school kinda player, Robinson is young and raw he’s not ready for big minutes, Knox is fragile like Wiggins and I could see him losing all confidence under Thibs.
Knicks just need to continue the rebuild with someone like Kenny Atkinson, draft well as make some good trades.
Knicks have 9 draft picks next 3 years and has play Ping Pong game for 6 consecutive years
The owners want wins and refuse to rebuild for another 20 years
Knicks started in rebuild in 2001
But they haven’t gone anywhere. The best they were was when they had Porzingis Hardaway and others.
Complete rebuild is the worst idea ever, Warriors are half rebuild with 11 draft picks next 3 seasons
Knicks need to sign good free agents and Later trade them into top 5 picks or future assets
This isn’t a video game. That does not happen. You won’t get a Top 5 pick in a trade unless you’re trading a stud that you probably shouldn’t be trading in the first place. The only other way to get a Top 5 pick via trade is if you trade a player to a team that thought it would contend, but they unexpectedly fell apart, so they didn’t protect that pick, and it fell into the Top 5.
New Yorkers keep popping up dreaming of getting rid of their own bums and attracting expensive post-peak stars from elsewhere.
The Knicks are currently using the strategy encouraged by Sullivan, albeit as a plan B, to no acclaim.