Latest On Thibodeau’s Firing, Knicks’ Coaching Search
Knicks president Leon Rose and owner James Dolan met with several players and members of the coaching staff before making the decision to fire head coach Tom Thibodeau, sources tell Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. They were asked to provide input on the current state of the franchise following the loss to Indiana in the Eastern Conference Finals and offer advice on what moves should be made next.
Shelburne hears that Thibodeau’s dismissal had been brewing for several months, sparked by a feeling that the team wasn’t reaching its full potential despite having Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns as All-NBA players. Shelburne’s sources said Rose became convinced that a new leader was needed after talking to the players and coaches, as he no longer had confidence that Thibodeau could guide the team to the NBA Finals.
“He got outcoached,” one league source told Shelburne. “The Game 1 collapse (in the Eastern Conference Finals) was insane. If they don’t have that collapse, who knows what happens.”
The Knicks led most of the way in the series opener and held a 14-point advantage with 2:50 remaining before Indiana staged a dramatic comeback behind a barrage of three-pointers. The Pacers also won Game 2 in New York, and the Knicks were never able to gain control of the series.
Shelburne points out that Thibodeau was second-guessed on several decisions he made against Indiana. Towns remained on the sidelines late in Game 2 as the team’s offense bogged down, and the decision to insert Mitchell Robinson into the starting lineup didn’t come until Game 3 when the Knicks were already in a desperate situation.
There’s more from New York:
- Thibodeau’s insistence on giving a heavy workload to his starters was another factor in Rose’s decision, Shelburne adds. She notes that Brunson posted the highest usage rate of his career, with one source pointing out that he missed games this season due to ankle and calf injuries and raising concerns that he might eventually break down like Derrick Rose did while playing for Thibodeau in Chicago.
- The Knicks will prioritize experience in hiring their next coach and won’t panic if a replacement isn’t found by the start of Summer League on July 10, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. Bondy examines the credentials of several candidates, stating that recently fired Kings coach Mike Brown and former Lakers and Kings coach Luke Walton were among the names he has heard recently. Bondy also mentions current Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd, who has been cited before as a potential target, but cautions that it’s not clear if Dallas would consider letting him go.
- Kidd shouldn’t be dismissed as a candidate just because he’s under contract, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon said on the latest Hoop Collective podcast (hat tip to Jared Schwartz of The New York Post). Kidd, who signed an extension with the Mavs last year, played for the Knicks during his final NBA season and has experience coaching Brunson. “I think it would be way too far to hint, suggest or any of that that J-Kidd is looking to get out of Dallas,” MacMahon said. “I think that would be not an accurate or fair thing to say. But if this opportunity were to present itself, I bet you his ears would perk up.”
Draft Rumors: Maluach, Raynaud, Niederhauser, Coward
Duke center Khaman Maluach may be moving up draft boards after a “wildly positive” pro day in which he showcased his shooting touch, writes Jonathan Wasserman of Hoops HQ.
According to Wasserman, some NBA scouts believe that Maluach has a chance to be selected in the top five of this month’s draft, perhaps by the Hornets (No. 4) or Jazz (No. 5). The South Sudanese big man is ranked No. 6 on ESPN’s best available prospects list.
Here are a few more draft rumors from Wasserman:
- Stanford center Maxime Raynaud was one of the big winners of the pre-draft process, excelling in the first day of scrimmages and measuring better than some other big men in the class. While scouts initially thought Raynaud had moved himself into late first-round territory after the combine, they now think he could be selected in the teens or early 20s, Wasserman writes.
- Penn State big man Yanic Konan Niederhauser is another player who shined during the pre-draft process, particularly at the G League Elite Camp. According to Wasserman, Niederhauser was largely off NBA radars a month ago, but now teams believe he will receive legitimate consideration late in the first round. There have been rumors that the Swiss center may have received a promise after he decided to keep his name in the draft, Wasserman notes, though that hasn’t been confirmed. Niederhauser is ranked No. 34 on ESPN’s board.
- Cedric Coward, the 29th-ranked prospect on ESPN’s list, appears to have a wide draft range. Some NBA personnel Wasserman has spoken to have a lottery projection for the Washington State wing, while others think he’s only a potential first-round pick. Coward only played six games for the Cougars due to an injury and was relatively unheralded until this season, but he had excellent physical measurements and tested very well at the combine, making him the “ultimate high-risk, high-reward” prospect, per Wasserman.
Barnes, Stewart, Vassell Candidates For Jamaican National Team
Raptors forward Scottie Barnes, Pistons big man Isaiah Stewart and Spurs guard/forward Devin Vassell are in discussions to join Jamaica’s men’s basketball team, reports Daniel Blake of The Jamaica Observer (Twitter link).
Clippers wing Norman Powell has already committed to represent Jamaica during the pre-qualifiers for the 2027 FIBA World Cup this summer, as has Timberwolves forward Josh Minott, according to Blake (Twitter link).
Rockets wing Amen Thompson and Pistons wing Ausar Thompson may also represent Jamaica in FIBA competitions and possibly the Summer Olympics. Blake hears the Thompson twins began the process of applying for Jamaican passports last week — their father is from Jamaica.
Blake previously mentioned Suns center Nick Richards, who was born in Kingston, Jamaica, as another candidate to join the national team.
If Jamaica is able to secure the commitments of all the aforementioned NBA players, the country would become a formidable opponent in international competitions. Former Rookie of the Year and All-Star Barnes is the most accomplished of the group, and all but Minott have established themselves as at least solid rotation players in the NBA.
Knicks’ Towns Undergoes Procedures For Playoff Injuries
Knicks star Karl-Anthony Towns recently underwent unspecified procedures to deal with his bruised left knee and to repair ligament damage in his left finger, reports Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com.
As Shelburne writes, Towns sustained the finger injury in New York’s second-round series against Boston and hurt his knee in the Eastern Conference Finals vs. Indiana.
The 29-year-old big man had his injuries reevaluated after the Knicks were eliminated by the Pacers, according to Shelburne, who hears from sources that Towns opted to have the procedures right away in order to maximize his recovery timeframe ahead of the 2025/26 season.
Towns, who was selected No. 1 overall in the 2015 draft, had a productive first season with the Knicks, having been named to his fifth All-Star team and earning a spot on the All-NBA Third Team for the third time.
Towns is under contract through ’27/28 and will be extension-eligible this offseason, Shelburne notes. His current deal will pay him approximately $110MM in guaranteed money over the next two seasons, with a $61MM player option for the final year.
D.J. Augustin Joining Rockets’ Front Office
Former NBA point guard D.J. Augustin formally announced his retirement as a player in November. Now, he’s transitioning to a new role.
Sources tell Kelly Iko of The Athletic that Augustin is being hired by the Rockets and will have a job in their front office (Twitter link). Augustin confirmed the news to Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle.
Augustin had two separate stints with Houston at the end of his long playing career. The 37-year-old, who played high school ball in Texas, also played two years at the University of Texas at Austin prior to being selected No. 9 overall in the 2008 draft.
Augustin appeared in 976 regular season games (334 starts) with 11 different teams over the course of his 15 NBA seasons, averaging 9.5 points, 1.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 23.4 minutes per contest. He posted a shooting slash line of .412/.381/.867.
When he announced his retirement on Instagram, Augustin suggested that he would be looking to remain involved with basketball in some capacity.
“I may be retiring as a player, but I’ll always be connected to this game we all love,” he wrote in November.
Hoops Rumors Chat Transcript: 6/5/2025
Hoops Rumors hosted a live chat today at 1:00 pm Central time (2:00 pm Eastern).
Kings’ Jake LaRavia Discusses Free Agency, Memphis, More
Kings forward Jake LaRavia will be an unrestricted free agent this summer after having his fourth-year team option for 2025/26 — worth $5,163,127 — declined by Memphis last fall. The Grizzlies subsequently traded him to the Kings in February, and Sacramento will not be able to offer him a starting salary that exceeds the declined option.
According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, who recently interviewed LaRavia over the phone, several teams are expected to register interest in the 23-year-old when he hits the open market at the end of this month.
Here are a few highlights from Scotto’s conversation with LaRavia.
On what he’s looking for in free agency:
“The biggest thing, like scratch the money part, I want what everyone else wants, which is being on a team that’s really competing for a championship or a young up-and-coming team that’s ready to win. I love to compete. It’s one of the biggest reasons I enjoy playing basketball. You’re competing against the highest level of talent when you’re playing in a league.
“So being on a team that is competing for a championship and that needs a guy like me, a wing that plays both sides of the ball. I’m a defender who can shoot the three and can make plays. I do a little bit of everything. I’d love to see my role expand as I get more and more years in the league.”
On if he’s open to signing with a new team:
“Yeah, options are definitely open. It’s not like I have my mind set on one place. I’ve seen plenty of cases where it’s hard to turn down money at the end of the day. It’s a business.”
LaRavia says he quickly built a strong relationship with Doug Christie, who was Sacramento’s interim coach at the time but has since been named the team’s permanent head coach. Will Christie’s promotion impact LaRavia’s free agency?
“Yeah, for sure. I loved him being the interim head coach. I even told him in the interview that if you’re not hired, odds are I’m probably not going to re-sign Sacramento, but if you are, there would be more of a chance for me to go back to Sacramento. When I found out the news, I congratulated him. I’d love to play for Doug Christie.”
LaRavia’s reaction to Grizzlies executive vice president of basketball operations Zach Kleiman saying he made a mistake by declining LaRavia’s option and that the former first-round pick could’ve helped Memphis down the stretch:
“(Agent) Aaron (Reilly) sent that to me when it happened, and my fiancé sent that to me. I was appreciative that he said that. You don’t really see an executive make that kind of remark, so it shows the respect that he had for me and the relationship that we had. It means a lot for a GM to say something like that.”
LaRavia also discussed what he’s focused on improving this summer, his efficient third season, his time with Memphis, the Kings and their roster, what he brings to the table for a team, and more. The full interview with Scotto can be found right here.
Pacers Notes: Nesmith, Haliburton, Canadians
Aaron Nesmith didn’t miss any games after spraining his right ankle in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals vs. New York, but playing through the injury wasn’t easy, according to the Pacers wing, who was limited to 16 minutes in Game 5 and just under 20 in Game 6, his two lowest totals of the postseason (he also had some foul trouble in Game 6).
“It took a lot (to return for Game 4),” Nesmith said on Wednesday, per Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. “It was pretty much rehab every minute of that day. It was cold tub, game-ready, hyperbaric chambers, it was red light therapy. It was manual wave, it was shock wave. Anything you could name we kinda threw it at the ankle, but there was no chance I was missing that game.”
Although the Pacers haven’t had as much rest between the conference finals and the start of the NBA Finals as the Thunder, Indiana still had four full days off prior to Thursday’s Game 1. Few Pacers appreciated those off-days more than Nesmith.
“I needed ’em,” he said. “I was looking forward to these days off. I took ’em, and I’ll be ready.”
Here’s more on the Pacers:
- Given the challenges the NBA has faced over the years trying to find a way to stop teams from tanking, the league should be rejoicing that Indiana has made it to this year’s NBA Finals, writes Jason Lloyd of The Athletic. As Lloyd details, team owner Herb Simon has long had an aversion to tanking, so the Pacers have never really done it — the club was stuck in the middle at times, but has won fewer than 32 games in a season just once in the past 35 years.
- Following an on-court altercation with Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo at the end of the Pacers’ first-round series win, Tyrese Haliburton‘s father John Haliburton was effectively banned from attending games. However, that ban was lifted for Pacers home games midway through the Eastern Conference Finals as long as the elder Haliburton watched from a suite. For the NBA Finals, he won’t be prohibited from attending games at either arena, Dopirak writes for The Indianapolis Star. “I think the commentary around my dad got a little ridiculous,” Tyrese said. “Of course, I’m going to say that. I’m his son. It got a little over the top. He was wrong. That is what it is. I don’t think any of us want to be defined by our worst moments. That’s just sports media. Sometimes we just take a super good thing or a super bad thing and overblow it. It is what it is. He’s learned from it. It won’t happen again. Love my pops dearly. Really thankful he’s going to be in the building along with me on this journey.”
- Both teams competing in the NBA Finals have multiple Canadians on their rosters, with Andrew Nembhard and Bennedict Mathurin representing the Pacers and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luguentz Dort competing for the Thunder. Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca takes a look at the shared history among those players, three of whom represented Canada in last year’s Olympics, while Julian McKenzie of The Athletic specifically examines the bond between Montreal natives Mathurin and Dort, who grew up minutes from one another and each describes the other as being like “a brother.”
Eastern Notes: Giannis, Nets, Raptors, Spoelstra, Pistons, Magic
Team personnel around the NBA who have spoken recently to Brian Lewis of The New York Post (subscription required) are expressing less confidence that Giannis Antetokounmpo will ask the Bucks to trade him this summer.
“He’s not that guy (to cause trouble),” one source told Lewis. “He’s going to complain, but he isn’t going to actually burn it to the ground and be the bad guy to leave.”
As Lewis details, it’s perhaps no coincidence that rumors about the Nets‘ interest in pursuing a second lottery pick have gained some traction lately, since that’s viewed as a more realistic move for Brooklyn than landing Antetokounmpo. Even if the Bucks star does become available, the Nets have fallen behind teams like San Antonio, Houston, and Toronto as betting favorites to land him, Lewis notes.
“Toronto has more than anyone to offer for Giannis,” one league source told The Post. “But I don’t think he’s being moved.”
If Giannis were available, the Raptors could make a strong bid for him by including former Rookie of the Year and All-Star Scottie Barnes in their package. Still, it’s debatable whether such a move would make sense for Toronto, according to Eric Koreen of The Athletic, who notes that paying a significant price (Barnes, plus other players and picks) for Antetokounmpo wouldn’t necessarily put the Raptors in a better position to contend than recent iterations of the Bucks.
Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:
- Since we published our most recent list of the NBA’s longest-tenured head coaches last August, four of the top six names on that list (Gregg Popovich, Michael Malone, Taylor Jenkins, and Tom Thibodeau) have been let go or, in Popovich’s case, stepped down. That leaves Erik Spoelstra of the Heat as the league’s longest-tenured head coach by a significant margin, and he doesn’t take that longevity for granted, as Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald details. “You have to have great ownership and stability from the front office,” Spoelstra said during the season. “… I’m truly grateful for that, because we’ve been able to work through some tough losses and tough seasons and I think we’ve gotten better from that.”
- Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press (subscription required) considers how the Pistons might be able to leverage certain teams’ cap and apron positions this offseason by pursuing players from those clubs. Sankofa identifies Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Grayson Allen, Isaac Okoro, and Sam Hauser as four wings whom Detroit could target in free agency or trades. Minnesota, Phoenix, and Boston are coming off second-apron seasons, while Cleveland is on track to exceed the second apron in 2025/26.
- The Magic unveiled a new logo and three new uniforms earlier this week, per a team press release. Orlando’s updated look can be found here.
And-Ones: All-Star Game, Rubio, Draft Sleepers, Broadcasters
Asked during an appearance on FS1’s Breakfast Ball (Twitter video link) whether a U.S. vs. the World format for the All-Star Game is something the NBA could implement as soon as 2026, league commissioner Adam Silver replied, “Yes.”
Silver cautioned that nothing has been set in stone yet, but that plan has been set in motion, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press, and the NBA believes the timing makes sense. There was significant interest in the men’s basketball event at the 2024 Paris Olympics that featured a star-studded Team USA taking on NBA stars from other countries, and the 2026 All-Star Game will air on NBC while the network is also broadcasting the Winter Olympics.
“What better time to feature some form of USA against the world?” Silver said on FS1. “I’m not exactly sure what the format will be yet. I obviously paid a lot of attention to what the NHL did (with its ‘4 Nations Face Off’ All-Star event earlier this year), which was a huge success. … But also, going back, last summer, our Olympic competition was a huge success.”
As Reynolds writes, the biggest sticking point for the NBA is that approximately 70% of the NBA’s players are American, with just 30% from other countries. So even though some of the game’s biggest stars – including Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Luka Doncic – could represent the “world” team, a format that requires 12 non-U.S. players to be named All-Stars would likely result in some glaring snubs among U.S. players.
Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Veteran point guard Ricky Rubio, who announced his retirement from the NBA in January 2024, played for Barcelona at the end of the 2023/24 season before taking ’24/25 off. The 34-year-old Spaniard published a message on social media on Thursday that could be interpreted as either a hint at his retirement as a player or a signal that he isn’t done yet. “I took this year to reflect on my career and my life, and I’ve realized that if I’ve gotten to where I am today, it’s not because of the assists I’ve given, but because of the assists I’ve received,” Rubio wrote (via Twitter). “This isn’t a goodbye, it’s a thank you to all the people who have helped me along the way.”
- Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports identifies seven of his favorite “sleepers” in this year’s draft, naming UNC’s Drake Powell, Gonzaga’s Ryan Nembhard, Kentucky’s Koby Brea, and four others as prospects capable of outperforming their probable draft slots.
- Richard Deitsch and Andrew Marchand of The Athletic dig into the NBA’s media landscape, with Marchand noting that the league’s new partners, Amazon and NBC, will be keeping an eye on players nearing the end of their respective careers who might be interested in transitioning to broadcasting. That group includes Draymond Green, Stephen Curry, and LeBron James, according to Marchand, who adds that Steve Kerr would qualify too if he moves on from coaching in the coming years.