It took the Knicks exactly three days to move on from Tom Thibodeau, never mind that the bench tactician led them to their first conference finals appearance in a quarter of a century. Evidently, they believed the roster they constructed following a number of splashy moves deserved to claim the Larry O’Brien Trophy — and that he was the single biggest reason they proved unable to even compete for it. Per the grapevine, the decision of the front office was made after a series of meetings with key players. At this point, though, how they came up with it is irrelevant; the bottom line is that they were so moved as to absorb the remaining $33 million of his salary following an extension last year.
That said, Thibodeau’s dismissal has rightly polarized National Basketball Association circles. After all, it can be argued that the Knicks’ absolutism effectively disregards the success with and to which he steered them since occupying the hot seat at the turn of the decade. He took them to the playoffs four times in five seasons, and progressively — from the first round to the East semifinals twice to the just-concluded best-of-seven affair against the Pacers. And it’s not as if he had an ideal lineup at his disposal. In fact, it was uneven at best; such notables as All-NBA selections Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns are veritable offensive greats, but likewise sieves on the other end of the court. At the same time, the likes of Josh Hart and Mitchell Robinson thrived on defense, but are far from dependable in producing points.
No doubt, the dichotomy handicapped the Knicks under pressure. They may have had a top-five offense in terms of points per 100 possessions, but they relied strongly on isolation sets that became predictable and less efficient against elite defenses that had time to formulate countermeasures in the postseason. Meanwhile, they encountered difficulty improving on their middling coverage. And as evidenced by their losses to the Pacers, their lack of versatility and creativity both ways did them in.
So, yes, Thibodeau is hardly perfect. As even casual observers of the pro scene know, he has a predilection for giving his First Five heavy minutes — all but running them to the ground by the time they go deep in the playoffs. Not for nothing did Hart lead the league in minutes played per contest, with Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby also ranking in the top five. Including Brunson and Towns, every single Knicks starter finished in the Top 20 out of a cohort of 150. Considering his obvious penchant for keeping his rotations tight, management did have cause to wonder whether he was fit to keep steering the blue and orange in the pace-and-space era.
There is also Thibodeau’s no-nonsense approach to his craft, which can come off as grating to his charges. Reports have cited his fractured relationships with both those he presided over and those to whom he reported. The manner in which Knicks President Leon Rose announced his exit and cited the need for a leadership change to achieve the franchise’s championship aspirations indicated that internal dynamics played a role in the decision. They have the right to shape their future as they see fit, of course, but it remains to be seen if their latest move will enable them to keep forging ahead and ultimately fulfill their championship aspirations.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications,
and business development.
