Despite some speculation that he could be fired this offseason, according to Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer, the New York Knicks are expected to keep head coach Tom Thibodeau past the 2021-22 season.
The news breaks as the Knicks sit only 5.5 games back from a spot in the play-in tournament after having a deep run in last year's playoffs. Despite last seasons' success, there have been constant rumblings about the organization potentially moving on from Thibs.
According to Fischer, one of the main reasons Thibodeau was kept as head coach in contrast to how many felt in the front office was due to team president Leon Rose not wanting to fire the first coach he hired. The two are also said to have a strong respect and affinity for each other.
Here is a snippet from Fischers story about Rose's involvement in keeping Thibs in NYC:
Few executives are afforded the opportunity to fire more than one head coach before ownership eventually shifts their attention onto the team’s front office leader himself. And if Rose were to ever relieve Thibodeau of his responsibilities, that would almost certainly require New York’s tight-lipped president to address the personnel change publicly—which has occurred only twice since Rose was hired two years ago.
“It’s not like they inherited him. This was Leon’s guy,” said one NBA coaching figure. “Leon would have to answer to that.”
A pretty damning statement considering that James Dolan gave Rose and the rest of the front office permission to do whatever they wanted with Thibodeau. Even though people in the franchise have their qualms about Thibs, Rose and the rest of the front office view their head coach as the perfect man to take the blame for the teams' struggles.
"Thibs will stand there pregame and postgame, every day, and take the bullets for you," the coaching figure said.
Even though Thibodeau is often labeled as the scapegoat for the Knicks' current struggles on the court, whether fairly or unfairly, according to league officials' that talked with Bleacher Report, the main reason for the Knicks' downside this year is not due to the head coach but rather injures. Derrick Rose has been limited to only 26 games this season after two surgeries to his ankles. Another lynchpin on the team, Nerlens Noel, has only appeared in 25 games. Preseason projections had the Knicks as a 40+ win playoff team.
With only 14 games left in the Knicks regular season, while it won't be an impossible task to reach one of the play-in spots, but it's becoming more and more likely we won't see them in the postseason.
Fischer concluded by saying that there will be a lot of change come this offseason, including hitting the free agency market, with PG Jalen Brunson being on the top of their list.
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