The New York Knicks made a shocking decision on Tom Thibodeau's future on Tuesday. After five years in front of the New Yorkers, the veteran coach was dismissed following an Eastern Conference defeat to the Indiana Pacers.
Their season finished on Saturday after Indiana eliminated them in Game 6 of the series to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2000. Shams Charania of ESPN reported on Tuesday that the Knicks decided to fire Thibodeau after making the playoffs in four of his five seasons, leading the team to consecutive 50-plus win seasons and their first participation in the ECF in 25 years.
Thibodeau became another playoff head coach to be shown the exit door despite having a relatively positive season following the firing of Taylor Jenkins from Memphis and Michael Malone from Denver.
Knicks President of basketball operations, Leon Rose, issued a statement in the wake this decision, taking fans through the process to part ways with Thibodeau, as they aim at winning championships and want to go in a different direction at coaching.
"Our organization is singularly focused on winning a championship for our fans," the statement reads. "This pursuit led us to the difficult decision to inform Tom Thibodeau that we've decided to move in another direction.
"We can't thank Tom enough for pouring his heart and soul into each and every day of being the New York Knicks head coach. He led us not only with class and professionalism for the past five seasons, but also to tremendous success on the court with four playoff berths and four playoff series victories.
"Ultimately, we made the decision we feel is best for our organization moving forward. Tom will always be a part of our Knicks family and we truly wish him nothing but the best in the future."
The search for a new head coach begins now, but it's hard to think the Knicks will have trouble finding a fitting candidate to take over from Thibs. They have a solid core, led by Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony, Josh Hart and OG Anunoby, but the front office could be plotting some moves as we speak.