When the Knicks reached the All-Star break amid a 3-13 freefall, a three-game losing streak and a 25-34 record, at least two front office members recommended firing Tom Thibodeau, The Post has learned.
Front office members thought Thibodeau had, as one source put it, “lost the team.” They disliked some of the body language and attention during the timeout huddles.
According to the source, Knicks president Leon Rose was determined to let Thibodeau go in his second season and the Knicks manager survived the February hiatus.
After a relatively smooth 12-11 record after the break, 2021 Coach of the Year Thibodeau will march on, although it’s uncertain if he has the full support of the Brass.
Tom Thibodeau at the Knicks season finale on April 10, 2022. Jason Scenes
Rose’s top advisors are Executive Vice President William Wesley, GM Scott Perry, Chief Strategy Officer Brock Aller, Deputy GMs Frank Zanin and Walter Perrin, and Human Resources Director Makhtar N’diaye. Wesley was the only manager who traveled with the team to almost all away games.
But Rose, once Thibodeau’s CAA agent, became the only voice that mattered, and he underscored his belief in Thibodeau during an interview with MSG Network on Sunday. A source said Thibodeau was praised by Messing for getting ready to play rookie center Jericho Sims against the veterans after the break.
Rose called Thibodeau “one of the best coaches in the NBA” who “prepares our team better than anyone. I feel like he did a good job given the circumstances.”
“As for Thibs’ performance… he’s one of the best coaches in the NBA. Obviously none of us are happy with the results this year. But he’s a guy who prepares our team better than anyone and I feel he’s done a good job under the circumstances.”
– Leon Rose pic.twitter.com/q4u8bvhqNE
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) April 10, 2022
Thibodeau’s Knicks finished 37-45 and will be back in the NBA draft lottery. Thibodeau said he will work immediately with exit interviews and review the disappointing season before moving on to the study draft in two weeks.
He is safe, but not from criticism. Social media pundits have ripped him off for not playing against young forward Obi Toppin earlier in the season; Giving up Kemba Walker too early and keeping veteran Alec Burks as the out-of-position point guard.
A common theme was Thibodeau’s stubbornness to bet more on younger players before the season spiraled out of control.
According to an NBA source, the front office — and some players — weren’t thrilled with how the coach has handled the enigmatic Julius Randle this season by not holding him more accountable for his mistakes.
Rose has defended Thibodeau’s coaching decisions. Getty Images
One of Thibodeau’s deepest moments came before the All-Star break when RJ Barrett sprained his ankle after being left in the game in the closing seconds after the Denver blowout, costing him four games.
Thibodeau has an excellent regular-season record as a coach (430-322 in 10 seasons) and led the Knicks to a 41-31 clip and the No. 4 seed last season. But he’s used to criticism for his heavy-handed coaching style, being from Chicago and Minnesota.
“This isn’t my freshman year, OK,” Thibodeau said with a chuckle when asked about the naysayers.
“Here’s my thing: It doesn’t matter whether it’s praise or criticism. To me, only you know if you’re putting everything you’ve got into something. And once you do that, I honestly don’t care. I will give everything I have every day and I will live with the results. I don’t think anyone studies this team harder than me. That doesn’t mean I’m always right, but I know how hard I’ll study.”
The Knicks’ offense let them down — not so much defensively as some have claimed. Statistically, the Knicks were a solid defensive-rebound team that was among the leaders in allowing points in the paint, and their defensive field goal percentage ranked fifth.
If Thibodeau is accused of not nurturing youth, it’s not because he didn’t try at his Tarrytown headquarters.
Thibodeau hosts a pre-exercise exercise with the young group to give them additional study work. In fairness, when Toppin and fellow 2020 first-rounder Immanuel Quickley emerged in the final stretch of the season, Thibodeau might deserve some credit.
Quickley said it wasn’t unusual on Sunday night for the Knicks coach to still be in his office at 11 p.m. Toppin said he refers to Thibodeau’s pre-training as “early hoops.”
“We just go through our plays, the main thing is for all of us to be great with our plays and know what we’re doing when we come into play,” Toppin said. “So if all the young people are together on the pitch, it’s easy because we do it every day before training.”