Advertisement - scroll for more content
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement - scroll for more content
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Donovan isn’t the only widely respected, veteran head coach who’s hoping for a return to the sidelines, though, as league sources say Tom Thibodeau is also very interested in a comeback. The 68-year-old was fired from his Knicks post last summer but is looking for the right fit for his coaching future again. And yes, league sources say, that includes the prospect of a Bulls reunion if the Reinsdorfs and new executive vice president of basketball operations Bryson Graham, who was hired away from the Atlanta Hawks on Monday, had interest.
Steve Popper: Have heard rumors of this coming for months with Billy Donovan and Thibodeau mentioned as possible replacements from every rumor about it. The coach blaming remains one of the oddest parts of the NBA (and every sport).
Addressing the future of coach Quin Snyder, whose contract has only one season remaining after this one. Snyder, remember, was one of five NBA head coaches under contract that the Knicks unsuccessfully requested permission to speak to last June after the dismissal of Tom Thibodeau along with Dallas' Jason Kidd, Houston's Ime Udoka, Minnesota's Chris Finch and then-Chicago coach Billy Donovan. Snyder did not receive an extension in the immediate aftermath of New York's approach like Udoka, Donovan and ultimately Kidd, but extension talks are mostly certainly expected soon after this season … whether or not Atlanta can keep it going Thursday night.
League sources — granted anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the coaching search — also say former NBA coach Michael Malone was contacted before he took the University of North Carolina job, as well as former Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau, who is no longer a candidate. And before he took control of the Blazers, Dundon spoke to former Toronto executive Masai Ujiri. “This isn’t Russian hockey players who don’t speak English,” a league source said. “In the NBA, everyone talks to everyone else. He says he didn’t make job offers … but it’s the narrative that is circulating … and it’s wrong. It’s bad business.”
Should Orlando move on from Mosley, keep an eye on veteran free agent coaches Taylor Jenkins and Tom Thibodeau drawing interest. Another name to monitor would be Bulls coach Billy Donovan, who will have the option to remain with Chicago or pursue another coaching position. It’s also worth noting that former Magic assistant coach James Borrego, who’s currently the interim head coach for the New Orleans Pelicans, will also be available this summer. Lastly, prior to Michael Malone accepting the North Carolina head coaching job, many within league circles believed he was a coaching candidate for Orlando if the franchise pivoted away from Mosley after its season concluded.
Advertisement
ALL NBA Podcast: Safe to say Mike Brown has been more willing to experiment with zone defense than Thibs was 😅
Safe to say Mike Brown has been more willing to experiment with zone defense than Thibs was 😅 pic.twitter.com/OaK63YWnv8
— ALL NBA Podcast (@ALLCITY_NBA) March 23, 2026
Q. People blame Tom Thibodeau for the first injury. He should have probably taken you out that game. I'm not blaming him, but… Derrick Rose: But so, so check it. So, if none of that happened and I would have never got injured or whatever it was, you never would have got to the resilient side of me. You never would have got to the 50-point game…
Under coach Mike Brown, defensive coordinator Brendan O’Connor and this new staff, the Knicks began the season with a system that emphasized forcing the ball into the middle — into the length they have in Karl-Anthony Towns, Mitchell Robinson and OG Anunoby. That type of system is rare and a departure from what most of them have done throughout their careers, including last year under Tom Thibodeau. There were frequent miscommunications, and their defense was constantly getting broken down — forcing it to collapse and leaving shooters open on the perimeter for kickout threes, often the result of missed rotations.
Steve Popper: After attending the D-Rose tribute, Tom Thibodeau appeared on The Starting Lineup on @SiriusXMNBA this morning -- asked by @TheFrankIsola if he wanted to coach again, he said, "I love the game. Obviously I’m preparing for the next opportunity. So hopefully I’ll be ready for it."
Fullcourtpass: "Thibs you may have went to Harvard, you may have did physics, but I showed you physics!" - Derrick Rose (h/t @ohnohedidnt24)
Advertisement
Daniel Thompson: A tremendously special moment between D-Rose and Thibs... To all the talk about Thibs being responsible for the injury Derrick says "F--- that" and "He's the first coach that made me feel special." Wow. 😭❤️🌹 #NBASky #SkyHoops
K.C. Johnson: There are sooooo many teammates back for Derrick Rose. Luol Deng, Taj Gibson, Joakim Noah, Ben Gordon, Kyle Korver, Kurt Thomas, Brad Miller, Thabo Sefolosha, Tyrus Thomas, Richard Hamilton, Aaron Gray and more. And Tom Thibodeau is in the house as well. Kirk Hinrich, James Johnson, Drew Gooden too. Also saw Andre Iguodala and Evan Turner here
James Dolan: The team is really built on the shoulders of Tom Thibodeau, right? He built — he built that core, right? We went as far as — as we did last year. And so you really gotta take your — your hat off to Tom and the job that he did. But we did come to the conclusion that, you know, we had an idea of how we wanted to organize the team — and actually it goes for both teams — and that meant we needed to evolve, right? Actually beyond the old traditional coaching, right? You know, um, formulas, etc. And, you know, we tried to work that with Tom. It really wasn’t his thing.”
Did the Knicks make the right call with Thibodeau and Brown? The Knicks had a better record at this point in the season last year under Thibodeau. But Brown has played the bench more often, something Dolan thinks will pay dividends in the postseason. “Look how far we got with our group last year, and then take a look at who was playing and who wasn’t playing and then we had injuries,” the owner said. “We’re going into this season, into the second half of the season, Josh is still out and Landry is coming back soon. We’ve got depth, and if we stay healthy, we’ll go into the playoffs in much better condition than we went into the playoffs last year.”