The New York Knicks have hired Tom Thibodeau as their next head coach, the team officially announced Thursday. Thibodeau will be the tenth full-time coach the Knicks have had in this century and will replace interim coach Mike Miller, another candidate for permanent job. On Saturday morning the other candidates were informed that they had not gotten the job.
Thibodeau was previously the coach of the Chicago Bulls and Minnesota Timberwolves. His Chicago teams have had great success, reaching the playoffs in each of his five seasons and routinely ending up near the top of the defending league. His mandate to Minnesota was less successful, however, as star Jimmy Butler asked for an exchange and the young stallions Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins stagnated. His tactics have been criticized as obsolete in Minnesota, but the Knicks seem to believe that he can modernize in New York.
Thibodeau’s relations in New York almost certainly contributed to his hiring. He is represented by the CAA, where Knicks’ president Leon Rose once ran basketball operations. He was also an assistant Knicks from 1996 to 2004. On paper, this suggests that Thibodeau should be able to adapt quickly enough to New York pressures. A coach’s ability to work in concert with a front office is critical to his success and the pre-existing relationship between Thibodeau and Rose gives the Knicks an edge on the front.
The search for New York coaches was exhaustive. In addition to Thibodeau, Rose interviewed five former coaches: Kenny Atkinson, Mike Woodson, Jason Kidd, Mike Brown and Miller, as well as five inexperienced coaching assistants: Ime Udoka, Chris Fleming, Pat Delaney, Jamahl Mosley and Will Hardy. Previous coaching research Knicks had focused on specific, high-profile coaches early in the process with less than positive results, so Rose was determined to leave no stone unturned this time.
Thibodeau will now inherit a well-stocked Knicks team for the future. RJ Barrett, choice no. 2 in the 2019 NBA Draft, he had a year as a beginner albeit somewhat irregular. He finished the season with a high score, averaging enough 17.3 points per game in his last seven games. Second-year midfielder Mitchell Robinson broke Wilt Chamberlain’s 10-year record for the percentage of goals on the pitch by making 74.2% of his shots. His incredible defensive advantage certainly appeals to Thibodeau after years of working with former defender of the year Joakim Noah. For the first time since their downward spiral began, the Knicks are loaded with future capital projects, which have the choice of the Clippers’ first round and two future selections from the Dallas Mavericks in addition to all their choices.
The (more recent) reconstruction of New York is still in its infancy. No matter how high their ambitions are when it comes to acquiring veteran stars, it will likely be a few years before the Knicks are ready to win at a high level. If he can wait so long to see, but in Thibodeau, the Knicks have found a manager who has already won a winner. If they can manage the next few years correctly, they may be able to do it again.
