Knicks fire Tom Thibodeau: Next steps, potential replacements, trade targets

Melissa Rohlin

FOX Sports NBA Writer

The coaching ranks have their latest victim, this time in the form of a beloved yet somewhat controversial figure named Tom Thibodeau, who led the New York Knicks to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 25 years this postseason.

It’s a surprising move considering the Knicks are coming off of two seasons in which they won at least 50 games, and they went on to surpass expectations in the playoffs, knocking off the reigning champion Boston Celtics in the second round before falling to the Indiana Pacers in six games a few days ago.

Thibodeau, who has been at the helm of the Knicks since 2020, transformed them from a team that missed the postseason seven seasons in a row into one that made the playoffs four times under his tenure.

But when a celebrated franchise such as the Knicks comes close to reaching the mountaintop but falls short, including blowing a 14-point lead with under 3 minutes left in Game 1 of the Conference Finals, heads are going to roll – and Thibodeau is the first domino to fall.

1. Who are the candidates?

Michael Malone

Michael Malone is arguably the best coach available after being let go by the Nuggets in April. (Photo by Eakin Howard/Getty Images)

Thibodeau isn’t the only coach who seemingly got the rug pulled under him this season. Another surprising coaching move was made shortly before the playoffs began, when the Denver Nuggets fired their longtime coach with three games left in the regular season. Malone knows how to win. He led the Nuggets to an overall record of 471-327 during his 10 seasons at the helm, including seven straight playoff appearances and a championship in 2023. Not to mention, Malone is a New York native.

Mike Budenholzer

The Knicks clearly believe the franchise is close to being great, so it seems logical that they’d want someone with championship experience to help them take the next leap. Budenholzer is also available and fits that bill after leading the Milwaukee Bucks to the championship in 2021. Budenholzer was fired as the Phoenix Suns coach after a stunningly disappointing regular season, in which his team had so much talent in Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, yet greatly underperformed, failing to even reach the playoffs. But Budenholzer is a respected mind on both ends of the court and has a 520-363 record in 11 seasons as head coach.

Jay Wright

Could former Villanova men’s basketball head coach Jay Wright be the right person to wrangle the Nova Knicks? (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

Even though Wright doesn’t have any NBA coaching experience, this move could make a lot of sense. He was the head coach at Villanova from 2001-2022 and has strong ties to Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges, who all played for the Wildcats. Wright led Villanova to two national championships in 2016 and 2018.

Mike Brown

The Sacramento Kings made waves when they fired Brown following a 13-18 start this season, despite him being named the unanimous Coach of the Year in 2023 and snapping a 16-year playoff drought that year. Brown is a defensive specialist who has been up for Knicks coaching gigs before.

2. Which players could benefit the most from a coaching change?

The reason why the word “controversial” was used above in reference to Thibodeau is because he has drawn a lot of criticism for playing his starters heavy minutes. Bridges, who averaged 37 minutes a game in the regular season, acknowledged that was taking a toll on him in March.

“Sometimes it’s not fun on the body,” Bridges told reporters. “But you want that as a coach, and also talked to him a little bit knowing that we’ve got a good enough team where our bench guys can come in and we don’t need to play 48 [minutes], 47. “

Five different Knicks averaged more than 35 minutes per game last season. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Thibodeau played his starting five much more than any other five-man group in the NBA. So, under a different coach, the starters could benefit from getting more rest, something that has been emphasized in recent years as an important measure to take to prevent injuries. Meanwhile, the reserves will get more of a chance to develop and prove themselves.

That said, Brunson made it clear that he supported Thibodeau after the Knicks were eliminated from the Conference Finals when a reporter asked him if he had confidence in his coach.

“Is that a real question right now?” Brunson asked. “Did you just ask me if I believe he’s the right guy? Yes.”

3. Should we expect a trade this offseason?

Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future in Milwaukee is uncertain following another disapppointing season. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images)

In short, yes.

The Knicks already proved that they were willing to make big moves to tweak their roster when they acquired Bridges over the summer and then made a blockbuster deal for Karl-Anthony Towns in the preseason.

And now, their decision to fire Thibodeau after their best season in over a decade emphasizes that they’re willing to take extreme measures to try to win a championship now.

While the Knicks exceeded expectations this postseason, it needs to be noted that they beat a Celtics team that lost Jayson Tatum to an Achilles injury. Not to mention, the Knicks were third this season behind Cleveland and Boston and were 0-8 against those teams.

It seems obvious that the Knicks are going to be aggressive about making roster upgrades. The question is whether they will make minor changes to improve their depth or whether they will make an NBA-landscape-altering move, such as trying to acquire a superstar like Kevin Durant or Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Melissa Rohlin is an NBA writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the league for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times, the Bay Area News Group and the San Antonio Express-News. Follow her on Twitter @melissarohlin.