Despite the New York Knicks regressing from a top-four seed to the lottery in Tom Thibodeau’s second year at the helm, the 64-year-old head coach is “expected to remain the Knicks’ head coach beyond this 2021-22 season,” according to a report from Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer.
“Knicks governor James Dolan had granted the front office permission to either remove Thibodeau or retain him, sources said,” Fischer reports. “But team president Leon Rose has no plans to make any change on the Knicks’ bench, sources said. Thibodeau maintains a frequent dialogue with Dolan following each game and often visits the governor’s box.”
Fischer also writes that the New York front office “values” Thibodeau embracing a role as the organization’s spokesperson, willing to address both positive and negative news publicly.
Furthermore, the absence of an obvious successor dissuades the Knicks from considering or opting for a change. Fischer writes “there’s no evidence” that assistant Johnnie Bryant would represent an upgrade, while Kenny Payne “may very well” try to “pursue” becoming the men’s basketball head coach at University of Louisville.
A lack of health from key players like Derrick Rose and Nerlens Noel, who have combined for just 51 games this season, is also seen as a reason for New York’s down year, according to sources in contact with Fischer. A decline from Julius Randle, who was an All-NBA forward last year, was also mentioned, in addition to the team prioritizing more ball-handling this offseason, which created a shift away from the defensive identity of 2020-21.
“New York’s commitment to Thibodeau comes after a disconnect grew between the head coach and Leon Rose’s primary front-office lieutenants — executive vice president William Wesley and vice president of basketball strategy Brock Aller — ahead of the February trade deadline, sources said,” Fischer writes.
Fischer reports “there will be a level of turnover in New York this summer” and that the Knicks, since the 2021 Draft, have been willing to trade much of their roster. They’re in the market for a point guard, with Jalen Brunson seemingly atop their list of targets.
Source: https://uproxx.com/dimemag/tom-thibodeau-expected-to-stay-with-knicks/