Tom Thibodeau has 30 million causes to smile — even after being dismissed from his put up as Knicks head coach.
New York fired Thibodeau simply days after his fifth season got here to an in depth, a season by which he delivered the franchise’s first Jap Convention Finals look in 25 years and back-to-back 50-win campaigns for the primary time because the Pat Riley period. However his dismissal wasn’t with out a golden parachute.
Thibodeau signed a profitable contract extension earlier than the beginning of the 2024-25 season, and with one 12 months down and a number of years remaining, Madison Sq. Backyard is on the hook for the distinction — a lump sum that former Knicks level guard and longtime Thibodeau understudy Derrick Rose says his coach is having fun with regardless of his newfound unemployment.
“You know what’s crazy? I talked to Thibs, and he’s good,” Rose instructed reporters Sunday whereas serving as grand marshal on the NASCAR Chicago Road Race. “I think you can’t be mad when you’re walking away with $30 million. You can’t be too sorry for him. But he’s in good spirits. That’s my guy, we’re locked in until the end.”
Rose, who shared his MVP run with Thibodeau in Chicago and later reunited with him in Minnesota and New York, referred to as the firing a win-win state of affairs for all concerned. Thibodeau walks away with monetary safety. The Knicks retain a loaded roster led by All-NBA guard Jalen Brunson and stay poised to contend in a wide-open Jap Convention.
“He’s good, Jalen’s still in New York, he’s gonna be ballin’,” Rose stated. “Everybody wins, I feel like.”
Thibodeau exits New York having handed Pat Riley for fourth on the Knicks’ all-time wins checklist with 226 victories, trailing solely Pink Holzman, Joe Lapchick, and Jeff Van Gundy. The Knicks are anticipated to announce the hiring of former Sacramento Kings head coach and two-time NBA Coach of the 12 months Mike Brown because the thirty second head coach in franchise historical past — ushering in a brand new chapter as they chase the franchise’s first title in over 5 many years.
Thibodeau’s .565 successful proportion ranks sixth in franchise historical past, cementing his tenure among the many Knicks’ most profitable fashionable eras. Employed in 2021, he ended a seven-year playoff drought in his first season and led New York to the postseason in 4 of his 5 years on the helm. In three of these playoff appearances, the Knicks superior previous the primary spherical — a uncommon consistency for a franchise that spent many years mired in mediocrity.
New York was Thibodeau’s third head teaching cease after stints with the Chicago Bulls and Minnesota Timberwolves. Throughout 11 seasons, he has compiled a 578-420 file with a 48-55 mark within the playoffs.
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The Knicks’ entrance workplace continues to search out methods across the restrictive second apron.
The Knicks reportedly signed free agent ahead Guerschon Yabusele to $200,000 lower than the taxpayer mid-level exception. The small however crucial margin for a group hovering close to the restrictive second apron created simply sufficient respiratory room to signal one other participant to a veteran minimal deal. Had Yabusele not taken lower than the complete mid-level, the Knicks would have needed to dump one other participant’s wage in a commerce to create area to signal a minimal participant.
New York enters the upcoming season with its high seven rotation gamers intact from final 12 months’s convention finals run. The entrance workplace, nonetheless, prioritized strengthening its weakest hyperlink: bench manufacturing.
Alongside Yabusele, the Knicks added former Sixth Man of the 12 months Jordan Clarkson, who has scored extra factors off the bench than every other participant over the previous 5 years — an astounding feat given he began all 61 of his video games within the 2022-23 season.
Collectively, Yabusele and Clarkson inject a mix of dimension, versatility, and scoring punch right into a Knicks second unit that ranked final within the NBA in factors per recreation final season — upgrades mandatory for a group with its eyes set firmly on championship rivalry.
