The Knicks answered the primary query loud and clear. They parted methods with head coach Tom Thibodeau in a surprising resolution simply three days following the conclusion of their season in Sport 6 of the Jap Convention Finals towards the Indiana Pacers on Saturday.
The query is now not whether or not or not Thibodeau the proper coach for this group. It’s a sequence of questions the entrance workplace has to reply now that it’s made the manager resolution to discover a new voice for the locker room.
Who’s your coach of future?
Who’s the coach who will substitute Tom Thibodeau? Will the Knicks go for confirmed, old-school, like former Nuggets head coach Mike Malone? Or will they go new-school, recent blood? Cleveland’s Johnnie Bryant and Jordan Ott are each interviewing for the Phoenix Suns job. The reply could possibly be someplace within the center, however the Knicks should get this one proper — as a result of Thibodeau, for all his flaws, introduced New York Metropolis back-to-back 50-win seasons and the primary convention finals look in a quarter-century. His alternative has massive footwear to fill.
Can Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Cities co-exist?
The playoff numbers paint a very darkish image, as a result of most of the time, the Knicks misplaced minutes with Brunson and Cities on the ground and spent massive chunks of the remainder of video games taking part in catch-up. The Knicks’ new coach should discover methods to maximise the Brunson-and-Cities duo’s strengths whereas hiding each of their shortcomings on the defensive finish.
Towards the Pacers, the Knicks deployed 4 lineups that includes Cities that posted constructive internet scores. Brunson was in only one — the new-look starters with Mitchell Robinson in for Josh Hart — and even that group barely held its personal, outscoring Indiana by simply 2.8 factors per 100 possessions throughout 58 minutes.
The opposite three constructive lineups round Cities featured a mixture of Delon Wright, Miles McBride and Landry Shamet in for Brunson. These lineups gained by a landslide of their restricted minutes.
In the meantime there was simply constructive non-starting lineup that includes Brunson, and it solely appeared in 12 minutes over two video games. With McBride in for Cities alongside OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, Robinson and Brunson, the Knicks outscored the Pacers at a price of 47.8 factors per 100 minutes.
All different non-starting lineups that includes Brunson misplaced their minutes miserably, together with three lineups that appeared in 20 or extra minutes within the convention finals and misplaced by a median of 12.5, 30.8 and 36.7 factors per 100 possessions.
Can Brunson lastly play table-setter?
Brunson is among the league’s premier particular person scorers. However with a roster re-tooled round him throughout final yr’s chaotic offseason, his job description modified from celebrity scorer to table-setter for his teammates. He got here up quick in that division, main the NBA in touches, dribbles and time of possession, incomes an All-Star beginning nod and each All-NBA and Clutch Participant of the 12 months honors whereas his succesful teammates flourished in video games he missed as a result of damage, typically standing idly, watching the captain pound the rock for stretches at a time.
Brunson, too, should learn the room — earlier than the Knicks entrance workplace reads it for him. He’s already going to be a weak spot on the defensive finish, his measurement and stature making for a straightforward goal for many opposing groups. The Knicks have been capable of orchestrate back-to-back 50-win seasons on the again of his scoring, however the groups heading to the NBA Finals get all their gamers concerned on offense, not simply their franchise cornerstone.
Brunson struggled strolling that line between getting his personal offense and getting his teammates concerned. Subsequent season, he wants to seek out that steadiness — as a result of after firing Thibodeau, it’s clear this entrance workplace isn’t ready for anybody any time quickly.
Will the Knicks lastly run a contemporary NBA offense?
The place there have been flashes, there wanted to be a vibrant regular gentle. At occasions, the Knicks offense appeared like one thing for the historical past books. However these flashes have been rapidly overshadowed by an offense that labored right into a standstill, isolation-heavy, drive-and-kick scheme that took what the protection supplied slightly than dictated its personal plan of action.
The Knicks spent an excessive amount of cash and forked up too many belongings to have this many weapons at their disposal however keep resigned to taking part in reactionary offense. They’d seven succesful three-point shooters on a roster than ranked fourth-last in makes an attempt from downtown. They didn’t make Cities a precedence on offense and didn’t run constant actions to get their succesful wings in areas to attain.
The expertise is there. The priority was how that expertise was getting used — and whether or not the Knicks might actually attain the following stage with out a extra cohesive offensive identification.
The entrance workplace felt that reply was no. The subsequent coach should have a brand new view of how this staff will generate buckets.
Can the Knicks lastly play a deeper rotation now?
If Thibodeau’s resolution to increase the rotation after dropping Video games 1 and a pair of towards the Pacers did something, it was reinforce the concept the staff had high quality depth all alongside. The pinnacle coach simply failed to make use of it earlier than it was too late.
Valuable Achiuwa was one other omission from the rotation for a staff begging for extra our bodies to absorb extra minutes, and rookie Pacome Dadiet and Tyler Kolek hardly ever noticed the ground, by no means afforded the chance to achieve invaluable regular-season expertise able to paying dividends within the playoffs.
A brand new coach could include a brand new method to building-up gamers on the skin of the rotation. These gamers are more and more invaluable, with Oklahoma Metropolis and Indiana representing the East and West within the NBA Finals due to 10-man rotations and coaches that aren’t afraid to let their younger gamers play via their errors.
The Knicks aren’t going to have the cap area or draft picks so as to add high quality gamers to the top of their rotation, so the following head coach goes to have to maximise what he’s given — one thing Thibodeau didn’t do with the new-look Knicks.
How will the Knicks construct their bench?
Will the Knicks develop Dadiet, Kolek, and Ariel Hukporti into dependable contributors? If not, they’ll have restricted avenues to bolster a roster in want of extra playable choices come spring.
Exterior of decide No. 50 within the 2025 NBA Draft, a $5.65 million taxpayer mid-level exception, and minimal contracts, their major path to significant enchancment lies via commerce — and it might require subtraction earlier than addition.
As of now, 9 gamers are on assured contracts: Brunson, Cities, Bridges, Anunoby, Robinson, Hart, McBride, Dadiet and Kolek. The Knicks may retain Hukporti and P.J. Tucker by exercising staff choices.
But when inner improvement isn’t the reply to New York’s depth considerations, the entrance workplace should get artistic.
Will they flip one in all their larger contracts for a number of, extra usable items? Or package deal two reasonable salaries for a 3rd star? Each paths stay on the desk.
Don’t count on a splashy free agent signing. This staff gained’t have cap area. Each improve will likely be calculated, measuring twice to chop as soon as.
Will the Knicks take an enormous swing?
Was the pinnacle coach the one domino, or simply the p-waves earlier than the earthquake? The coach, in any case, can generally be scapegoat for bigger points in place because of roster building.
Giannis Antetokounmpo could have performed his ultimate recreation as a Milwaukee Buck. And whereas the Knicks don’t at present have the draft capital to make a compelling provide — not after unloading 5 first-round picks for Bridges — that doesn’t imply they’re out of the working.
They’ll nonetheless get artistic.
They might flip Bridges, whose worth took a major hit this season after a string of inefficient performances on each ends, for a package deal that replenishes their decide provide. They might construct a deal round Cities, who nonetheless instructions respect throughout the league. They might embody Anunoby, Hart, or Robinson. And in the event that they actually wished to shake the league, they might put Brunson on the desk — although doing so would possibly spark a full-blown riot on the nook of thirty third and seventh.
The Knicks will at all times be linked to the following massive star. That’s what comes with being the staff in New York Metropolis. However the larger query is: Do they want a blockbuster — or simply smarter additions to push previous the East?
Initially Revealed: June 3, 2025 at 2:13 PM EDT
