Employed in 2020, Thibodeau went 226-174 with the Knicks. He turned the primary coach since Mike Woodson (2012-14) to finish his tenure with a profitable file and elevated a franchise that had been irrelevant for many of the 2010s.
Whereas Thibodeau must be celebrated for what he achieved, together with main New York to the Jap Convention Finals for the primary time since 2000, the Knicks wanted to make this transfer.
The staff has a gifted core, and it is honest to marvel if Thibodeau obtained it so far as he might.
Regardless of being thought of one of many sport’s high defensive-minded coaches, the Knicks could not cease the Pacers of their six-game collection loss, permitting 116.8 factors per sport.
With the staff’s greatest stars, level guard Jalen Brunson and heart Karl-Anthony Cities, struggling defensively, Thibodeau’s fashion did not mesh with the staff’s high expertise.
The Knicks want a coach who can maximize their offensive strengths whereas minimizing their defensive liabilities. With a finite variety of seasons as a bonafide contender, they could not await (or count on) Thibodeau, 67, to turn out to be that coach.
Thibodeau additionally relied extra closely on his starters than another coach, taxing the unit with substantial minutes. That wear-and-tear is not sustainable, and New York’s starters would doubtless have been subjected to the identical utilization in 2025-26 underneath Thibodeau.
The choice might backfire, however with some wonderful candidates in the marketplace, together with just lately fired former champion head coaches Michael Malone and Mike Budenholzer, plus youthful former Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins, New York has intriguing choices to get the group again to the NBA Finals.
It is cheap to be skeptical of the Knicks, who we have grown accustomed to seeing get issues fallacious extra typically than they get it proper.
Thibodeau’s firing comes with dangers, however sustaining the established order would have had its personal penalties.
As an alternative of taking the identical method and anticipating a special final result, New York is making an attempt one thing totally different. What’s so loopy about that?
