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“So, next up on the list: the Knicks made a mistake by getting rid of Tom Thibodeau.” Stan Van Gundy “Yeah, they totally did. That was a big mistake. Tom Thibodeau—one of the best coaches in this league—did an unbelievable job with that team this year. Maximized virtually everyone on their roster. I mean, OG Anunoby—best year of his career. Karl-Anthony Towns—probably the best year of his career. Jalen Brunson, a guy who was what, a 15–16 point-a-game scorer in Dallas, has become a star. Josh Hart went from a backup to a triple-double-type of guy in New York. I mean, he just maximized this roster and took them places they hadn't been in a quarter of a century. And they make a coaching change? Made absolutely no sense to me.”
Knicks will commit $70 million in salaries to the head coach position over the next four years
Ian Begley: Between Tom Thibodeau’s deal and Brown’s deal, which was noted earlier by @CPTheFanchise, New York has a total of *$70M in committed salary to the head coaching position over the next four years. *This number does not factor in the impact of the offset clause on Brown’s deal and any potential buyout agreement between the Knicks and Thibodeau.
The New York Knicks wanted experience when looking for Tom Thibodeau’s replacement, per league sources, and that’s why Brown is now their guy.
The Knicks, according to league sources, have been telling prospective free agents since the NBA marketplace opened Monday night at 6 PM ET that their search to replace Tom Thibodeau is nearing a resolution. And former Sacramento Kings coach Mike Brown is widely regarded now as the favorite to land the position.
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Rose’s former head coach with the Bulls, Tom Thibodeau, was recently fired by the New York Knicks after leading them to the Eastern Conference Finals, their first conference finals appearance since 2000. The former MVP spent three of his last four seasons with the Knicks, playing a key role as part of their resurgence as an Eastern Conference playoff contender. The 36-year-old says he was “surprised” just like everyone else over Thibodeau’s firing, but says his former coach is in “great spirit.” “I think everybody was surprised,” says Rose. “There’s no bad blood and he’s in great spirits out here on the East Coast, living life.”
Ian Begley: Minnesota Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori has completed his interview with the Knicks for their head-coaching vacancy, per SNY sources. Nori has spent 16 years as a front-office-the-bench assistant, coaching under 4 Coach of the Year winners. Nori, Taylor Jenkins and Mike Brown are the three known interviewees in NYK’s search. The Knicks relieved Tom Thibodeau as head coach days after they lost to Indiana in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Detroit head coach J.B. Bickerstaff seemingly came to the defense of now-former five-year Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau, without explicitly naming the team or coach, writes Matt Ehalt of The New York Post. During a conversation on ESPN Radio’s “Joe & Q” on Friday, Bickerstaff appeared to allude to Thibodeau’s recent firing, after he had led New York to a 51-win regular season and its first Eastern Conference Finals appearance in 25 years. “I don’t want to call it the cherry on top, but it’s the final straw, I think, of what has happened this season and the level of respect that we feel coaches deserve versus what they are getting,” Bickerstaff said. “Some of the decisions made down the stretch with firing coaches, it just shows that there are some places that don’t value what coaching is and what it can bring,” Bickerstaff added. “When you are a coach, you feel like there is a job that you have been told to do. And when you go out and do that job well, you should carry it over to the next year. If you have had past successes, that should envision future successes. You can’t guess what the future is going to look like with somebody new.”
Austin Rivers sounds off on his former head coach Tom Thibodeau: He didn't treat me well at all
Speaking on his The Ringer podcast "Off Guard with Austin Rivers," Rivers spoke frankly about his understandable grievances with the way Tom Thibodeau and Knicks general manager Leon Rose handled Rivers' quick tenure with the team. "I'm not really a Thibs guy. I played for him, it wasn't the best experience personally, didn't treat me well at all," Rivers said.
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Austin Rivers: "First day of camp, this is a true story... [this is] my first time really talking to him since signing there," Thibodeau comes up to me and says, 'Hey man, excited for you to be here. I wanted Derrick [Rose], but you'll do great. You'll do great.' And he walked away. And I remember thinking to myself, 'Hmm. Not gonna be here long.' Within a month or two, guess who's on the team? Derrick Rose. I already knew I was on my way out," Rivers said.
"And the way it went down and the way they handled business was crazy, bro," Rivers revealed. "They brought me to a dark room, it was Leon [Rose], Worldwide Wes [Knicks executive vice president and senior basketball advisor William Wesley], and Thibs. They're all three sitting there in the dark, with like a little light, it's like an interrogation-type thing. 'Hey man, we're gonna move you, we just got Derrick here. Until we find the right spot with you, you don't have to travel with the team anymore.'"
Josh Hart on Tom Thibodeau: “He helped make me into the player I am. I had a lot of instability early in my career, and he gave me that opportunity to flourish. I’ll always be forever grateful for him... Always tough when there’s a coaching change.”
Jalen Brunson on Tom Thibodeau: “The things he's done for me obviously individually I am I'm so grateful for just because like he had that he had that confidence in me that like I knew I had but like it's great to see someone like pushing you to be better. Obviously I have my dad and he always he believes in me more than anyone and my mom believe me more than anyone. But like to have Thibs and to to do what he did for my career, I'm just so grateful and thankful for.
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