After finishing with a disappointing 37-45 record and failing to reach even the play-in tournament, the New York Knicks are expected to bring Tom Thibodeau back for a third season.
He helped to lead New York to a fourth-place finish in the Eastern Conference in 2020-21 and earned NBA Coach of the Year honors for the second time in his coaching career.
Many fans wanted to see Thibodeau fired after this past year wrapped up, but president Leon Rose has publicly said that he’s in support of the coach. If Thibodeau isn’t able to turn things around next season, he’ll likely be gone during the offseason, if not before.
Regardless of how Knicks fans feel about Thibodeau, the hope is that New York will be back in the playoffs this time next year. However, if that doesn’t happen and Thibodeau is on his way out, the Knicks may not have many viable head coach options to choose from.
Charlotte recently fired coach James Borrego after he spent four seasons with the Hornets. It was reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Tuesday that Charlotte would start to interview four candidates, including Mike D’Antoni and Kenny Atkinson.
ESPN Sources: The Charlotte Hornets are beginning to interview candidates for their head coaching job, including Golden State assistant Kenny Atkinson, Milwaukee assistant Darvin Ham, Dallas assistant Sean Sweeney and Mike D'Antoni.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 3, 2022
Will the New York Knicks regret not parting ways with Tom Thibodeau?
D’Antoni was the head coach of New York from 2008-2012. During that span, he posted a 121-167 record before resigning in March of 2012. Wojnarowski wrote that D’Antoni’s emerged as a “serious” candidate for the Hornets’ head coach vacancy.
"“D’Antoni has been identified as a serious candidate early in the process, especially because of the possibility of pairing him with young point guard LaMelo Ball, sources said.”"
Because of LaMelo Ball, it’s hard to see Charlotte hiring a candidate other than D’Antoni and if that happens, unless he has a disastrous year in North Carolina, he won’t be an option for the Knicks if Thibodeau is fired in 2022-23. That is unless D’Antoni has a dire wish to return to New York.
D’Antoni enjoyed success as the head coach of the Houston Rockets from 2017 to 2020, so he’s more than capable of turning a team around.
On the other hand, there’s candidate Kenny Atkinson, who is an assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors. He surprisingly led the Brooklyn Nets to a playoff berth in 2018-19 but was fired in March of 2020. Atkinson was replaced by Steve Nash, who was reportedly a favorite of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
Like D’Antoni, Atkinson has spent time with the Knicks. He was an assistant coach with the team from 2008 to 2012. If he doesn’t receive a head coaching job this summer and is still available next season, New York could look to bring him back to Madison Square Garden if Thibodeau is let go.
Atkinson was interviewed by the Knicks in 2020, but as we all know, the organization opted for Thibodeau over him. Depending on how the upcoming year plays out, Atkinson could get another opportunity with the Knicks.
Hopefully, New York won’t have to worry about a head coaching vacancy next season, but that’s going to require a change of mindset on Thibodeau’s end. He has a positive relationship with the Knicks’ younger players, but their on-court development should be of importance.
If 2022-23 plays out anything like 2021-22 did, New York will be on the hunt once again. And hopefully, all of the good options won’t be unavailable.
RJ Barrett opens up about his relationship with Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau
Young star RJ Barrett recently appeared on JJ Redick's podcast, where he had some interesting words on the New York Knicks and coach Tom Thibodeau.