Will Tom Thibodeau welcome youth movement with open arms in 2022-23?
It’s safe to say that Knicks fans were unhappy about what they heard from the Knicks front office and coaching staff during training camp. What fans wanted to hear was high praises of the young players on the team and how Tom Thibodeau was going to let the young players get their time to shine, especially with the Knicks’ postseason aspirations being low this season.
Unfortunately, that was not the case. Instead, we heard vague answers on how the youth will have to earn their minutes, and how guys like Evan Fournier and Derrick Rose are still expected to play an extensive amount of minutes. Fournier and Rose aren’t scrubs, but I’ve seen that movie already, and it didn’t end well. I need the sequel where a group of younger characters, like Obi Toppin and Quentin Grimes, are at the forefront and get all the screen time.
Rose spent a majority of last season sidelined with an ankle injury, so he’s absolved a little bit. Fournier, on the other hand, started 80 games last season. Fans were bothered by Thibodeau’s comments about the open spot at the two, stating that Fournier is currently in the starting lineup and that Grimes would have to earn it.
Tom Thibodeau says Evan Fournier is the frontrunner to start at shooting guard: pic.twitter.com/CHvJpxmM0h
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) September 27, 2022
Tom Thibodeau needs to realize that Knicks’ best option is to embrace youth
At first, it makes sense. Fournier set the Knicks’ single-season record for threes made and shot 39 percent from behind the arc. Thibodeau’s right that shooting is needed in the starting lineup, but are we going to sit here and act like Grimes can’t shoot? Grimes shot 38 percent from behind the arc as a rookie, and he does something that Fournier does not which is play defense. He has also shown the ability to make plays, averaging four assists per game in the 2022 Las Vegas Summer League. That’s more than enough to show Grimes should be more involved.
Why would the Knicks front office make Grimes (of all players) untouchable during negotiations with the Utah Jazz over Donovan Mitchell if they didn’t think he was a key piece? It makes me wonder if the front office’s viewpoint is the same as Thibodeau’s. Thibodeau has his way of winning, outdated as it may be, while the front office understands that developing the youth will benefit the team overall. Yet, publicly, Leon Rose as president has voiced that he fully supports Thibodeau.
It does not end there, either. Tom Thibodeau repeatedly has come to the defense of Julius Randle, who, to put it kindly, is walking on paper-thin ice with a majority of the fan base. Frankly, I would be happy to see Randle gone at the trade deadline and have Toppin take his place. Nevertheless, Thibodeau said to the media that a lineup with Randle and Toppin playing together hasn’t worked well, stating the numbers and game footage to support his claim.
"It's not only the numbers, I actually watch the games"
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) September 29, 2022
Tom Thibodeau argues that blowouts last year skewed the statistics of the Obi Toppin-Julius Randle pairing: pic.twitter.com/sacpKREVss
The Knicks’ media policy has only furthered the confusion and made training camp a very frustrating one for fans. Personally, I think a lot of it is an overreaction. It’s too early to start asking for Thibodeau’s head on a platter. Some have gone as far as to discuss qualified replacements.
Leon Rose has ensured fans that the Knicks front office is “thrilled” with the direction of the team. However, if his actions as president don’t coincide with what is happening on the court, we will have the makings of another dysfunctional season for the New York Knicks.
