Knicks fire Tom Thibodeau after playoff ouster in stunning shakeup
Even after their best season in 25 years, the Knicks felt they weren’t good enough.
So Tom Thibodeau became the fall guy.
In a shocking move after the franchise advanced to the conference finals for the first time since 2000, the coach was fired Tuesday afternoon in a decision announced by team president Leon Rose and supported by owner James Dolan.
The reasons were multilayered, but the overarching theme was the team’s belief that Thibodeau couldn’t lead the Knicks to the next level.
The firing was also done without a concrete plan for a replacement, leaving the front office and ownership vulnerable to intense criticism if this backfires.
Thibodeau, after all, set a high bar in his five seasons. He took over a franchise in the dumps in 2020 and guided it to four postseasons with four series victories, including the high-water mark just last month by besting the Celtics.
But as it happened previously in Minnesota and Chicago for Thibs — who was fired from those spots despite solid basketball results — relationship and communication issues surfaced.
Part of what makes Thibodeau a great coach also turns him into a grating boss — it’s his unyielding commitment to the job, and without much compassion for emotions outside of it, plus an unwavering belief that he’s correct.
There’s also less give-and-take with Thibodeau, who isn’t known as a collaborative coach.
That can turn off the new-age player and, according to sources, multiple Knicks were frustrated with the coach.
According to SNY, Dolan personally listened to meetings with top players after the season as part of an “evaluation period.”
That ended with firing Thibodeau despite three years and roughly $30 million left on his contract — though it should also be noted that almost every Knick in the rotation produced their best seasons under Thibodeau.
Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart, in particular, have been vocal in their public support of Thibodeau.
Still, at least once previously during his Knicks tenure, the coach was firmly on the hot seat. Back then, Rose, who was given permission by Dolan to fire the coach in the beginning of the 2022-23 season, opted against it.
Thibodeau and Rose have had a strong relationship going back long before their Knicks partnership, a connection that launched the organization to its greatest era since the ’90s. The other top executive, William Wesley, was never as big of a Thibs supporter.
But Thibodeau was Rose’s guy.
Until the decision Tuesday.
“Our organization is singularly focused on winning a championship for our fans. This pursuit led us to the difficult decision to inform Tom Thibodeau that we’ve decided to move in another direction,” Rose said in a statement. “We can’t thank Tom enough for pouring his heart and soul into each and every day of being the New York Knicks head coach.
“He led us not only with class and professionalism for the past five seasons, but also to tremendous success on the court with four playoff berths and four playoff series victories. Ultimately, we made the decision we feel is best for our organization moving forward.”
After winning 51 games last season and carrying a roster worthy of at least repeating as a conference finalist, the hope from the Knicks is that the next coach pushes them to a championship.
It happened many years ago with the Pistons in 2003, when Rick Carlise was fired after advancing to the conference finals and was replaced by Larry Brown — who promptly won the title behind Chauncey Billups and Rasheed Wallace.
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But who might be that Larry Brown? It’s hard to say. According to multiple sources, Michael Malone, an NBA champion with the Nuggets, is not a candidate. Scratch him off the list.
Johnnie Bryant, a Cavaliers assistant with strong connections to the Knicks and Wesley, is a possibility.
If the Knicks want to poach a coach from another team, perhaps they might dream of prying loose Jason Kidd from Dallas, Ime Udoka from Houston or Ty Lue from the Clippers.
Or if they want to go the NCAA route, there’s obvious connections to Jay Wright or John Calipari.
No matter where that search goes, the Tom Thibodeau era is over. For five years, it defined the Knicks. Their identity was a Thibs team.
On a fateful Tuesday, they said they needed a new one.
