The New York Knicks announced that they were relieving Tom Thibodeau of his head coaching responsibilities.
After losing to the Indiana Pacers in the Conference Finals, initial reports had suggested the team was looking to back Tom Thibodeau, who has been with the franchise for five years.
However, the decision to relieve Thibodeau was taken by the franchise president Leon Rose and the team will now look to bring in replacements that will help the New York Knicks compete for a championship.
Stephen A. Smith had recently criticised Thibodeau for his decisions in the series against the Pacers.
However, after the decision of him being relieved of his responsibilities, the analyst expressed disappointment and wanted the team president to offer an explanation.
After the Conference Finals loss, even Jalen Brunson backed Thibodeau after he led the Knicks to their first Conference Finals appearance since 2000.
Shams Charania reported that there are no names that have emerged at this stage, but it only seems likely the Knicks will go for a big appointment after what the franchise has managed to do in the postseason.
A few big-name coaches are currently without a job.
The Knicks are expected to interview them and although there are no favourites yet, Charania expects the name to be someone with a championship pedigree.
“Clearly it’s going to be someone that has potential pedigree championship wise, someone that has been able to take over the top.
“Their singular goal is I’m told, ‘How can we win a championship.’ That’s all they’re thinking about,” said Charania when talking about potential candidates to replace Thibs.
Michael Malone was sacked with just four regular season games left in the Denver Nuggets campaign.
His firing was also shocking and it is expected that he will be very soon roped in by a team to be their head coach.
The Knicks’ aspirations are to win a championship and Malone is someone who brought that culture to Denver before being fired by the team.
Having worked under Gregg Popovich, Malone has the tools needed to thrive in any situation.
His stint in Denver was extremely successful and if the Knicks hire him, they can expect players to be held accountable as Malone does not back down from doing that.
Terry Stotts is currently the lead assistant with the Golden State Warriors, but he is a name that could be a candidate for the Knicks job.
Stotts was head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers team that made the run to the Conference Finals in 2019.
His coaching brought the best out of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, which is why Stotts could be interviewed for the job as the Knicks would want someone who can elevate their offense.
Stotts was Rick Carlisle’s assistant when the Dallas Mavericks won their first-ever championship.
While this may not be the most popular of the picks, Stotts has been around for many years and will demand the respect of the players on the team.
Mike Budenholzer was fired by the Phoenix Suns after a disastrous season where the team finished 11th in the Western Conference.
However, he went to the Suns after leading the Milwaukee Bucks to their first ever championship in franchise history.
Under his leadership, Giannis Antetokounmpo won two MVP trophies and the Defensive Player of Year award.
His coaching revolves around ball movement and Budenholzer’s team often generates good three-point looks.
He also helped the Bucks create a brilliant defensive core with Brook Lopez and Antetokounmpo leading the way.
While hiring a coach who recently lost his job seems risky, there is no doubt Budenholzer has all the tools to be a championship winning coach if a good roster is put together for him.
