What was once the most prosperous New York Knicks season in a quarter century has turned into a stressful offseason for fans.
Knicks brass fired head coach Tom Thibodeau shortly after the game six loss, and the search for his replacement hasn’t been successful. Now, during the NBA TV panel for Game 3 of the finals, host Charles Barkley is butting in to give his typical unfiltered take on the Knicks not thoroughly thinking about their future before the hasty firing.
“The Knicks gotta be the stupidest damn people in the world,” Barkley said. “Like, you don’t fire a good coach like that and don’t have a plan. I mean, Thibs did a hell of a job. Obviously, something’s going on there, but you don’t have a plan, and now, the three coaches turn you down. You gotta have a plan, man. And they don’t have a plan. Now… I mean, I don’t know what the hell they are going to do.”
The rejections he’s speaking about have actually increased to five since he made that comment. According to ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania, the growing list now includes Atlanta Hawks head coach Quin Snyder, Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan, Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd, Houston Rockets coach Ime Udoka, and Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch.
While front offices have turned down the Knicks’ request to interview their coaches, it’s not necessarily a negative outlook on no one wanting to coach the team; instead, it’s odd that the Knicks would focus so hard on attempting to poach an employed coach. Typically, teams hire a recently fired head coach who is looking for a new home team or an assistant who is ready to make the jump. So, if anything, the Knicks’ approach to finding a new coach is unusual.
The firing came as a surprise as Thibs managed to turn the team around from being the laughing stock of the league since the turn of the millennium. During his five-year tenure, he helped return the team to its former greatness, managing a 226-174 record, winning four playoff series, and guiding them to the postseason four out of his five seasons.
Usually even-keeled Knicks frontman Jalen Brunson even snapped at a member of the media who questioned if the team could win with Thibs at the helm.
See social media’s response to the Knicks’ ongoing search for a new coach and Barkley’s comments below.