Tom Thibodeau is gone
The firing of Tom Thibodeau was not remotely surprising, though it was shocking.
As much as Jalen Brunson’s defense or Karl-Anthony Towns’ Mr. Hyde or Josh Hart’s fear of shooting or Mitchell Robinson’s free throw shooting or the bench’s lack of more bench-ness, the Knick head coach’s stubbornness was as big of an issue as any going forward. And yet I never thought they’d fire him, certainly not less than three weeks after his Knicks knocked off the Celtics, less than 72 hours after his Knicks were playing Game 6 of the Eastern conference finals. Thibodeau’s gone.
If you’re a New York Rangers fan, you might be used to such whiplash. But for all his well-earned criticisms, both as a nepo baby cosplaying bluesman and a human being, James Dolan has not, over 25 years as Knick owner, made a habit of impulsively firing head coaches. This is pretty new.
Dolan signed off on Isiah Thomas firing Don Chaney and bringing in Lenny Wilkens right after acquiring Stephon Marbury, which always seemed unfair to Chaney. Wilkens returned the Knicks to the playoffs after a then-unthinkable two-year hiatus, then was fired midway through the following season. Larry Brown was fired for talking to the press and doing a lousy coaching job, in that order. Mike D’Antoni was fired because Carmelo Anthony was the new man in charge. Mike Woodson was fired because Phil Jackson was. Derek Fisher was fired after he [REDACTED]. Jeff Hornacek was fired and nobody cared. David Fizdale is the guy a good woman stumbles into at her low point in life. Nobody wants Mike Miller, but everyone needs him, often at their low point in life.
So Dolan canning Thibs now, especially, would be weird. Less weird than thinking Leon Rose all of a sudden, only this very season, realized – for the very first time! – that Thibodeau leans more toward the inflexible end of the coaches continuum. Or that Jalen Brunson, all but coronated King of The Knicks one year ago thanks to his basketball and financial efforts, went from cocksure regarding Thibs’ job safety a few days ago to signing off on it between now and then – or that Brunson was lying when he said this?
Whatever the truth is, it’s weird. Either presumably Rose and Brunson both supported Thibs’ firing, which would be stunning given everything we’ve ever seen or heard – why would they extend him last year, see him lead them past Boston and within two games of the Finals and then decide he’s gotta go? – or Dolan fired him despite one or both Rose and Brunson supporting him, truly the darkest of timelines. And what happens when a coaching candidate says it’s non-negotiable they’re bringing in their own staff and they don’t want Rick Brunson on it?
Some people think the Knicks, upright and ascendant and now trying to fly without their most — their only — successful coach this century are inviting an almost-certain backslide. Others feel they’d grown as much as they were gonna with Thibs, that moving forward meant moving on, with someone new. They’re both right.
You’d think the Knicks making this move now so soon after their season ended means they have someone in mind who they don’t want to risk losing. You’ll find better odds of the next pope being Muslim than the Rose front office giving the public/media any leads on who that is. While I can’t imagine who it could be they’re risking it all for – Mike Malone? Jeff Van Gundy? – it’s hard to think it isn’t some big name. I wouldn’t think they’re shopping in the Johnnie Bryant aisle.
Marc Stein says they like Ime Udoka. I like Bryce Dallas Howard. That doesn’t mean anything. I have no presence nor power in her universe. Stein also says they like Jason Kidd. Let’s move on.
If Malone or Van Gundy were interested – both men have Thibodeau bonds – there are fears the new boss will be too much like the old, particularly in their non-Fizdalian levels of intensity and their love of big minutes workloads. Fair. On the other hand, sometimes the right culture is worth carrying on. Sometimes what’s needed is a new voice, but not a new direction.
The Knicks followed Pat Riley with Don Nelson, which is like dating Michael Corleone and then Columbo. It didn’t work. It was almost immediately apparent it didn’t work. Tom Hagen took over and before you know it, the Garden is chanting Jeff Van Gundy’s name. As a lover of stories, I’m rooting for JVG to be the new JVG, the culture carry on-er. Fingers crossed Legs clutched.
I’ll miss Thibodeau’s brass, blaring sideline barks. The dignity of his rages, their humanity, a volcano always erupting but never in any direction where it might hurt someone; there’s something charming about a man who is constantly cursing, constantly talking to the refs, never getting technical fouls and in fact being one of their favorites. The importance of his quest, of one man with a vision being free to pursue it, however extreme, based solely on its merits. Another Doug Moe has left the center stage, quite possibly for good, and we as a basketball-viewing people are poorer for his absence.
Thibs wasn’t the answer, but he was good for his half of the rent, and he cooked – breakfast, mostly, but they were good eggs – and he was pretty clean. Now the Knicks are sassy and single again. Welcome to the dating world. Hope they had someone specific in mind, ‘cuz if they’re just out here playing the field they’re gonna find – Thibs would appreciate this – the roster gets pretty thin pretty quick out here.
But there is a depth of breath you only know when you go from suffocating alongside someone you know doesn’t fit anymore and breathing easier after leaving it behind. How often do we think “The answer’s obvious, but there’s no one who’ll do anything about it”? Well, someone, did. Gulp down that air while you can. We’ll be catching our breaths again at the next big news, sooner than later.
