https://x.com/rydunleavy/status/1929971670774596013?t=q-xCuXV7pJBmA6HcB9pPdA&s=19
Knicks being the Knicks
:what:
I can't believe it. This is the team he put together, and it's the best team in the last half century. What is the reasoning???
Quote from: Jolly Blue Giant on June 03, 2025, 02:52:14 PM:what:
I can't believe it. This is the team he put together, and it's the best team in the last half century. What is the reasoning???
They didn't give a reason whatsoever.
Don't disagree with it at all. His history is he only gets you so far. They now need a younger guy more tuned to today's NBA. Plus, that game one loss is absolutely inexcusable.
Very surprising, quite frankly..Some thought you can't change the team, change the coach. Well, I applaud Thibs for rescuing a sunk ship historically..and they must have a guy immediately in mind.,bench coach.
No lll will to Thibs. His team simply constructed was dysfunctional and I believe not championship caliber.
Quote from: Messiah717 on June 03, 2025, 03:06:23 PMDon't disagree with it at all. His history is he only gets you so far. They now need a younger guy more tuned to today's NBA. Plus, that game one loss is absolutely inexcusable.
I don't have a problem with replacing Thibs depending on who is the replacement. The Knicks are now relevant in large part because of Thibs but there are definitely better options. That said, I hope the gsmr one loss was not the trigger for 2 reasons. First, if you blame him for the loss, he deserves credit for beating the Celtics especially the 2 comebacks. Second, Haliburton's shot was a miracle shot and both Kat & OG missed critical free throws that would have iced the game
Thibs took the Knicks as far as he could. I have no problem replacing him because it was time.
They better nail replacement though
So what are the choices going forward?
Joe Torre?
Maybe Cavs assistant HC, former Knick assistant Johnnie Bryant. He seems like a logical choice. I hear Jay Wright with the Nova connection from some..but I don't buy it. He has a great life...does he need the stress and travel the NBA demands?
Please no Van Gundy. Malone. :no:
My first reaction to this was that I hated it. The Knicks were a complete disgrace for 20 years before Thibs came, and under his coaching they have gotten steadily better, having back to back 50-plus win seasons and just getting to the Eastern Conference Finals and going out in six. It seems odd to fire the coach in that situation.
After mulling it for a few hours though, I'm more circumspect. I think Thibs is a good coach, but he may not be the right stylistic fit for this roster. The Knicks have two major defensive liabilities in Brunson and Towns, but those two guys also happen to be their most talented offensive players by leaps and bounds. This team needs to be able to win high scoring games. I thought the offense struggled a bit under Thibs, more than it probably should have given the players they have.
They may have another coach in mind who is a better fit. I'm not saying I love the move of firing him... I don't. I just want to see the replacement first before I give it a final judgment. There may be guys out there who are a better fit for this roster. If so, and if they plan on hiring one of them, then I may end up being ok with this even though it feels incredibly harsh to me right now.
I guess you gotta crack some eggs to make an omelette. Not sure how I feel about it. There is not much of a rotation and when things got physical from indiana after 90 games this season the knicks wore down. Very top heavy team. The pacers could create great mismatches with fresh players with their team. Our bench players aren't that bad, they should have been ready to play. As Giants fans would say, we need some "dawgs". I thought Josh Hart was, but him playing last couple of games was like a Benny Hill skit. Seriously, ridiculous he was even left in the game at that point.
The knicks probably will have an easier road to the finals, I don't think the pacers can keep some free agents, and Tatum probably won't play next season.
Isiah Thomas
=)) =)) =)) =)) =))
Quote from: DaveBrown74 on June 03, 2025, 06:18:11 PMMy first reaction to this was that I hated it. The Knicks were a complete disgrace for 20 years before Thibs came, and under his coaching they have gotten steadily better, having back to back 50-plus win seasons and just getting to the Eastern Conference Finals and going out in six. It seems odd to fire the coach in that situation.
After mulling it for a few hours though, I'm more circumspect. I think Thibs is a good coach, but he may not be the right stylistic fit for this roster. The Knicks have two major defensive liabilities in Brunson and Towns, but those two guys also happen to be their most talented offensive players by leaps and bounds. This team needs to be able to win high scoring games. I thought the offense struggled a bit under Thibs, more than it probably should have given the players they have.
They may have another coach in mind who is a better fit. I'm not saying I love the move of firing him... I don't. I just want to see the replacement first before I give it a final judgment. There may be guys out there who are a better fit for this roster. If so, and if they plan on hiring one of them, then I may end up being ok with this even though it feels incredibly harsh to me right now.
I think you nailed it. Thibs is a good coach and has done a good job coaching the team. But, he's not the coach to take the next step with the talent on that roster. Both Townes and to a lesser extent Brunson dont play anything close to the defense that Thibs wants to play. With those 2 fixtures, and I think they are, they want an offensive coach.
As to the speed of the move, I see 2 possibilities. First, Rose made the decision and ripped the bandage off. Or, Rose supposedly really like Johnie Bryant, a highly regarded assistant with Cleveland. Supposedly, Bryant is contending with another assistant for the HC coach at Phoenix and the decision is coming soon. Bryant has no HC experience but its a possibility
There is so much more downside than upside to firing Thibs. I cant believe folks are considering this.
Quote from: Philosophers on June 03, 2025, 09:49:27 PMThere is so much more downside than upside to firing Thibs. I cant believe folks are considering this.
Depends on who the next coach is. What would change next year with Thibs coaching this group? It's a win now roster. Yes, it falls on the players as well but Thibs was out coached often in these playoffs. They were probably lucky to get by Detroit. Needed two miracle comebacks to beat Boston and the luck finally ran out against Indiana. Mainly because the team was gased and he stubbornly waited until game three to use the bench in any way.
So many questions, with no answers (for fans anyway)
Dolan is an ultrarich azzhole who gave Thibs a 30 million dollar extension just a few months ago...then fires him. That's a nice little severance package. I could do a lot of good - for me and others (mostly me...lol) - with 30 mill for doing nothing
I trust Leon Rose, who I think is the genius behind a lot of the reconstruction of the Knicks, and I'd love to hear what he has to say
I'd like to know which players (if any) had issues with Thibs, and what were they
I've read that the Knicks want the "Greek Freak", Giannis Antetokounmpo and even read that they might be willing to part with KAT, OG, and Brunson to land him :what: :no:
Who do they have in mind to take over the job???
What was the REAL reason for the firing? Was there bad blood between Thibs and Dolan? Thibs and Rose? Thibs and a star player? Fans want to know!
Somehow, I can't shake the idea that the front office was not happy with the whole trade deal they made to get Bridges. They gave up the entire farm for him, and he's been a bit of a disappointment to say the least, and now they no longer have a stash of draft picks or cap room to do anything else :-??
Unless you hire an idiot which he is jot, the only time you should fire a coach is if the players stop listening to him. That has not happened.
There's only ONE way that this makes any sense: They've already hand picked his successor and he's either already won a championship or has the pedigree to get it done.
Firing a man whose made our team relevant again after all these years of suffering without a plan is 100% inexcusable.
Quote from: Philosophers on June 04, 2025, 11:13:02 AMUnless you hire an idiot which he is jot, the only time you should fire a coach is if the players stop listening to him. That has not happened.
How can you know that for sure as an outsider?
For all we know, they could have done end of season player interviews, which most professional teams do, and the front office and ownership's takeaways from those were that a number of players were not fully behind Thibs.
Separately, it may also have been determined that Thibs, despite being a good coach, is no longer the right fit for the roster as it is currently constructed. And this roster is kind of set at this point. It is unlikely we will see anymore major moves anytime imminently.
Quote from: DaveBrown74 on June 04, 2025, 05:23:36 PMHow can you know that for sure as an outsider?
For all we know, they could have done end of season player interviews, which most professional teams do, and the front office and ownership's takeaways from those were that a number of players were not fully behind Thibs.
Separately, it may also have been determined that Thibs, despite being a good coach, is no longer the right fit for the roster as it is currently constructed. And this roster is kind of set at this point. It is unlikely we will see anymore major moves anytime imminently.
Did you see any player revolts during the season? At the end, when asked about Thibs future, Brunson seemed almost angry that the question had even been asked of him? Josh Hart's reaction as well speak volumes about his thoughts. Does it mean all 12 guys loved him? Probably not but it looks like the key guys did and that is all that mattered.
I'm still shaking my head at the decision to fire Thibs. Very risky move. After nearly a half century as the laughing stock of the NBA, a franchise that star players refused to come here because of it's reputation, we finally got a coach that takes the team to four playoffs in five years...and star players actually WANT to come here
I get it that the front office wants to "take the next step", because the ONLY thing that matters is bringing home a championship. But history is littered with impatient teams firing their coach to take the "next step", only to discover the new coach has to start from ground zero just to get back to where the team was...usually takes about five years...that is, if the coach is still part of the team by then
There is no guarantee that there is a head coach out there who will magically get more out of this team, than what Thibs did. In fact, there'll probably be a setback and we'll groan, basking the memory of an exciting good team in NY during the last few seasons. Let's just hope that we don't go back to the "lost in the desert" for the next half century in search of the promised land that Knicks' fans are sooo familiar with
Quote from: Jolly Blue Giant on June 05, 2025, 09:00:04 AMI'm still shaking my head at the decision to fire Thibs. Very risky move. After nearly a half century as the laughing stock of the NBA, a franchise that star players refused to come here because of it's reputation, we finally got a coach that takes the team to four playoffs in five years...and star players actually WANT to come here
I get it that the front office wants to "take the next step", because the ONLY thing that matters is bringing home a championship. But history is littered with impatient teams firing their coach to take the "next step", only to discover the new coach has to start from ground zero just to get back to where the team was...usually takes about five years...that is, if the coach is still part of the team by then
There is no guarantee that there is a head coach out there who will magically get more out of this team, than what Thibs did. In fact, there'll probably be a setback and we'll groan, basking the memory of an exciting good team in NY during the last few seasons. Let's just hope that we don't go back to the "lost in the desert" for the next half century in search of the promised land that Knicks' fans are sooo familiar with
Exactly.
I woke up this morning thinking, "did Dolan and Rose like the Pacers pace of play and full court pressure D and wants to consider Rick Pitino? He said not interested at Yankees game but I dont believe him.
I like Thibs he is a good coach and can turn a team around. But we all knew his weaknesses. Short rotations to much starter minutes lack of development of bench. Good players gone missing from lineup. Offensively he is not that good. It's the 90's offense that solely relies on half court sets slow pace.
This team was talented and to winning 51 regular season games, that's not enough they should have won more games. It's attributed to starters wearing out. Keeping starters in for blowout minutes what coach does that. He is a very good defensive coach, that reached his potential. Not a championship coach, but good coach we all see the struggles on offense when other teams turn up the dial he didn't even have an answer for full court press, starting the offense at the half court mark. The writing was on the wall.
Talent is still in the Knicks an another good coach will come in and maybe take the team to another step up.
Quote from: Philosophers on June 05, 2025, 06:59:27 AMDid you see any player revolts during the season? At the end, when asked about Thibs future, Brunson seemed almost angry that the question had even been asked of him? Josh Hart's reaction as well speak volumes about his thoughts. Does it mean all 12 guys loved him? Probably not but it looks like the key guys did and that is all that mattered.
I think Brunson loved him because Thibs allowed him to play iso and bully ball, and to take an inordinate amount of shots, which I think not every other player on the team was necessarily a huge fan of.
Quote from: DaveBrown74 on June 05, 2025, 07:46:34 PMI think Brunson loved him because Thibs allowed him to play iso and bully ball, and to take an inordinate amount of shots, which I think not every other player on the team was necessarily a huge fan of.
That's fair. Also throw in KAT's seemingly ridiculous 3 point attempts 10 feet beyond the arc and maybe you have a couple of guys playing beyond where they should.