Embarrassing Knicks search sparks talk of unthinkable reunion

In a post on Twitter/X, former professional coach and beloved broadcaster, Dick Vitale, slammed the Knicks' head coaching search, calling it "embarressing", "pathetic" and a "mess." Vitale ended the lengthy post, in which he credited Tom Thibodeau for doing a "quality job", by suggesting that the Knicks should end their humiliation by simply hiring Thibodeau back.

The Knicks' search has been heavily ridiculed after their controversial firing of Thibodeau. The dismissal was surprising because it came just days after he led them on their deepest playoff run in the last 25 years.

Making matters worse, it seemed they fired him without a real plan for who a successor would be. Since that point, they have requested permission to speak with a handful of coaches currently employed by other teams around the league. The requests included calls to Houston, Dallas, Chicago, Atlanta, and Minnesota. All five requests were denied by the team's front offices/ownership groups.

Embarrassment is spreading

With each passing day and denied request, the pressure mounts on Leon Rose and the Knicks' front office to make not just a hire, but the right hire. Vitale's tweet is the latest example of how it has been viewed by ex-players, ex-coaches, and media giants. Ahead of Game 3 of the NBA Finals, Charles Barkley stated, "The Knicks gotta be the stupidest d*** people in the world.”

Now, clearly, the Knicks will not be offering Thibodeau the job back. It is unlikely he would even accept it back at this point. That ship has sailed, and the Knicks are now committed to navigating the open waters that are a head coach search.

That said, the fact that it is even being discussed as an option, whether or not the suggestion was intended to be facetious, speaks to how the public is perceiving this search.

How can the Knicks defend this?

The Knicks' rebuttal to all of the criticism they have faced would likely be that they are conducting a thorough search in which they intend to leave no stone unturned. By all accounts, the Knicks ended the season knowing only one thing: Thibodeau wasn't the man for the job going forward.

With that much decided, and knowing they were soon to be the only team without a head coach, it seems they made the decision comfortable with the fact that they would have time to drag the search out as long as they needed to, and that seems to be exactly what they are doing.