As Tom Thibodeau takes over as head coach of the Knicks, there are a few pressing questions.
The New York Knicks have a new head coach. The search process that reminded me of when my 4-year-old flips through all of the possible movies on Disney Plus only to end up back on Frozen is over.
Tom Thibodeau is the latest name who will be introduced in a press conference where he will surely talk about how Madison Square Garden is the Mecca of basketball.
Now what?
After several weeks of blissfully ignoring the Knicks roster – all because there are more important things to think about, they are one of the eight teams who isn’t returning to play in Orlando, and the coaching search provided plenty of distraction – it is time to think about how Leon Rose and Tom Thibodeau will lead this team back to contention.
There are several questions that need to be answered between the time when Thibodeau greets fans in a Zoom press conference sometime this week and when he commands the sideline and forces the NBA to reconsider any plans of mic’ing up coaches.
Many of answer to these questions will be dictated by how the front office navigates this unconventional offseason. Where will the Knicks land in the lottery? How will they utilize their cap space? Does Leon Rose pull of a blockbuster trade? It’s very possible the team looks completely different whenever basketball can safely play the 2020-21 season.
But for right now, let’s focus on some obvious questions to be answered as Tom Thibodeau takes over as head coach.
1. Pressing questions for Tom Thibodeau: Which fringe players become contributors?
This offseason could bring plenty of turnover to the Knicks roster. SNY recently reported that opposing executives believe it is “unlikely” the team follows a slow rebuild under Rose and Thibodeau. New York is expected to pursue veteran players to help bolster their lineup that should include three young core pieces in Mitchell Robinson, RJ Barrett, and their 2020 lottery pick.
While some could argue about characterizing these next few players as “fringe” pieces, in my eyes, anyone not named Mitchell or RJ is on the watch list as possible moving parts.
That means Dennis Smith Jr. That means Kevin Knox. That means Damyean Dotson. And, of course, that means Frank Ntilikina.
Now, this is where Thibodeau’s influence comes into play. Assuming Rose trusts Thibs, who he just hired and has known for several years, you would have to believe there will be a two-way line of communication on how to build the roster for next season.
Looking at the list of young players from above, it would be easy to predict that Ntilikina might find second life under Coach Thibs. When you think of Thibodeau, you think of defense, and no young player personifies that better than Frank. Dotson would be another player who comes to mind in fitting the hustle style of play Thibs prefers.
Every coach is going to play the same star players, but each coach takes their own approach in who they trust farther down the bench. Which of the long list of young players on the Knicks roster become favored by Thibodeau will be fascinating to learn.
2. Pressing questions for Tom Thibodeau: How does he adapt?
This might be the most pertinent and most annoying question about Thibodeau at the same time. Every coach who has been in the league longer than a few seasons needs to learn how to adapt to remain competitive. In fact, this is true of any profession. The people who identify new trends, who continue to be curious and learn in order to master their craft, those are the types who excel.
Thibodeau is a workhorse. A team coached by the New Britain native is always going to be prepared. Whether that means they are prepared with the right schemes to face modern NBA offenses seems to be the question of the hour.
Thibodeau found great success utilizing an “Ice” defensive approach against the pick-and-roll in his earlier coaching years. The basic idea is to use two, instead of three, defenders to blow up side pick-and-rolls. As the league has evolved with more shooting big men, it has made it more difficult to corral the ball-handler when the screener is able to punish his man tracking the ball with a perimeter shot.
However, this is an example of a defensive coverage that receives a lot of attention because … Thibodeau was revolutionary in using it. He suffers from his own invention. If anything, it should tell fans that he has the defensive mind to come up with new techniques to stop what has become a league that relies much more on high pick-and-rolls than side action, which Ice was created to defend.
Still, there are things beyond Xs and Os that offer valid concern. Can Thibs learn how to deal with the newest generation of young stars? Can he manage playing time in the era of load management?
We know what Thibs has done in previous stops. How will he adapt and define his time in New York?
3. Pressing questions for Tom Thibodeau: Who will be his assistants?
Times have changed when a veteran, respected coach signs on the dotted line without having control over who will sit alongside him on the bench. But based on multiple reports, the Knicks will dictate at least two of the assistants on Thibodeau’s staff.
Newsday recently reported that interim coach Mike Miller is almost certain to make the new staff. It seems former Knicks coach Mike Woodson also has an inside track for a lead assistant role.
Who will be Thibodeau’s assistants? Maybe the better question is how will the staff work together considering it will be somewhat of a forced marriage.
Thibs has a strong personality and a high work ethic. It would seem that both Miller and Woodson should blend well with his personality. However, it’s impossible to know how a staff will perform until they are thrown into battle together.
The New York Daily News has reported that Thibodeau could fill out his staff with the likes of Kenny Payne and Rod Strickland. The Knicks new coach will have say on a few of the names who join him in coaching meetings.
Could Thibs carry a chip on his shoulder for not being able to hire all of his own guys? We will see. It will be an early indicator of how lockstep the front office and coaching staff will be as they try to turn things around in New York.
4. Pressing questions for Tom Thibodeau: How patient will he be?
Too many coaches have signed multi-year contracts to coach the Knicks, only to end up collecting the majority of their paychecks from home. David Fizdale was just fired 22 games into the second season of his five-year deal.
James Dolan is a lot of things, but cheap is not one of them. He has continued to show a willingness to pay top dollar to cover up past mistakes. Thibodeau is the latest example of that.
Signed to a five-year deal, the former Bulls and Timberwolves coach has plenty of security in turning around a team that hasn’t sniffed the playoffs in seven years. However, it would seem the Knicks will be looking for results similar to what he showed at past stops where he was leading a playoff team within a few seasons on the job.
Of course, roster composition will have the most to say about how quickly Thibodeau can garner results on the court.
But a pressing question all Knicks fans are anxious to see answered is how much Thibodeau prioritizes marginal improvement in terms of wins versus developing the young core players, perhaps at the expense of wins in the early going.
If the Knicks sign a group of veterans to fill out the lineup around the young core, that is fine. It’s expected. But if the tradition continues of playing veteran players over the youth, it won’t be a good early look for the new head coach. Unless those veteran players are All-Stars, that is.