New York Knicks: Tom Thibodeau set to run the show at The Garden

Tom Thibodeau ready to lead the New York Knicks back to prominence

The New York Knicks‘ coaching search is officially over as former Chicago Bulls and Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Tom Thibodeau is finalizing a five-year deal with the franchise. This comes days after reports suggested that Jason Kidd had emerged as a frontrunner for the job after negotiations reportedly came to a halt between Thibodeau and New York.

The Knicks opened up their head coaching search with a surplus of candidates.

These candidates consisted of Thibodeau, Jason Kidd (former Bucks and Nets coach), Mike Woodson (former Hawks and Knicks coach), Kenny Atkinson (former Knicks assistant and Nets coach), Mike Brown (former Cavs and Lakers coach), Pat Delany (assistant under Steve Clifford in Orlando and Charlotte), Chris Fleming (Bulls assistant), Will Hardy (Spurs assistant), Mike Miller (Knicks interim this past year), Jamahl Mosley (Mavs assistant), and Ime Udoka (Sixers assistant).

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The hiring of Thibodeau comes as no shock to Knicks fans, as the experienced coach was the frontrunner throughout the entire hiring process. Thibs was an assistant for many teams, including the Knicks, before taking over as the Bulls head coach from 2010-15. There, he coached a dynamic trio of Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, and Luol Deng that stayed atop the East for several years. He left to run the show in Minnesota, taking over basketball operations in the process but was let go in 2019.

Thibodeau looks to start a new script in his basketball legacy, taking over a Knicks team that has a surplus of young talent and in desperate need of bringing a contender back to the Garden. With RJ Barrett, Mitchell Robinson, and another lottery pick incoming, I think Thibodeau is the perfect guy to lead the youth movement in New York.

With a strong defensive mindset and winning pedigree, he’s going to demand a lot out of his young core. Although Thibodeau will undoubtedly bring in his own preferred coaching staff, I think hiring Mike Miller and Mike Woodson at the top of the staff would be fantastic moves to help aid the young core as well.

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As I’ve been saying for a long time, the key to the Knicks becoming a championship team again is building through the draft and being led by a confident and winning head coach. The narrative that every offseason they can sign one of the big free-agent targets won’t ever work until their homegrown talent gives players a reason to join the team. I think Tom Thibodeau is just the guy to flip the script in New York.

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