There hasn’t been a strong indication that Tom Thibodeau won’t be returning to the New York Knicks next season, so with that being said, it’s time to think about how that’ll affect the team’s immediate future.
After being named the NBA Coach of the Year in 2020-21, Thibodeau failed to lead the Knicks to the playoffs in 2021-22.
According to what Leon Rose has said, he appears to wholeheartedly believe in Thibodeau’s ability to elevate New York once again, although not everyone in the front office reportedly feels the same.
The Knicks’ roster is budding with young talent. While 24-year-old Mitchell Robinson could be signing with a new team as an unrestricted free agent this summer, his possible absence won’t leave a huge void (thank you, Jericho Sims).
If Thibodeau is definitively back with the team next season, it’ll be interesting to see how he handles the team’s younger stars, which was a main point of contention this past year.
According to The Athletic’s Fred Katz (subscription required), Thibodeau approaches New York’s younger players in a way that fans will struggle to believe.
“You mess up, he gets mad.”
— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) April 20, 2022
And then more drills come.
Story here on the Knicks’ young core and the head coach trying to develop them, who is more invested in the youth than his reputation implies ($1/month subscription offer in link): https://t.co/Pkbe6kVdRw pic.twitter.com/VTjFYBW5wP
Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau has developed a unique philosophy.
Katz wrote that before the Knicks have their usual practices as one unit, the team’s younger players have a separate practice beforehand, which has resulted in that group being referred to as the “Early Group.”
"“Head coach Tom Thibodeau will bring the young players in first thing to run through offensive sets. Every once in a while, a vet will crash the party, but for the most part, this is a time for the 20-somethings to learn the Thibodeau way and to absorb NBA habits. In two seasons with Thibodeau at the helm, it’s become a Knicks staple.”"
Who would’ve thought? Thibodeau’s known for giving his more experienced players an increased amount of chances in contrast to the younger ones, which is understandable to an extent.
Specifically, Toppin and Quickley’s play at the end of the season caused many to wonder why the two hadn’t been playing more all year long. New York’s year started full of hope but quickly turned to disappointment, so it’s not as if that younger duo would’ve hurt anything. In fact, they made things better.
That’s likely in part due to Thibodeau’s extra work that’s gone into developing players like Toppin and Quickley. However, his reluctance to play them makes the matter even more confusing, especially given the next point.
Katz noted that Thibodeau is especially fond of Quickley. That wasn’t at all obvious this past season since the coach continually played Alec Burks at point guard for 30+ minutes a game. On the topic of Thibodeau and Quickley, veteran Taj Gibson said:
"“He’s with the young guys a lot more now,” Gibson said. “You look at him — I use this example: the relationship between him and Quick. He’s constantly talking to Quick. It’s a good conversation. He’s challenging him but he’s always smiling, always laughing. You can tell he enjoys coaching him. A lot of people gave him flack for not playing rookies, not understanding rookies, and it’s a big change. He likes talking to rooks now. He loves being in the gym with the rooks. That’s how it is.”"
Because Gibson was with Thibodeau in both Chicago and Minnesota, he knows a thing or two about his coaching style.
The growth is encouraging, but that doesn’t mean that Thibodeau’s going to turn around next year and start Quickley at point guard or increase Toppin’s minutes.
Thibodeau’s stubborn, but he should be smart enough to recognize that this past season was full of failures and something desperately needs to change. That much is obvious.
The Knicks aren’t short on potential. That’s something that the team has plenty of, which is why Thibodeau holds a practice before practice.
Third time’s a charm, right? Well, technically the first year was also a charm for Thibodeau, but New York fans deserve to be able to forget his second season with what could (and should) but an exciting third year.
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