Despite enjoying the most successful tenure of any Knicks head coach this century by a mile, Tom Thibodeau was relieved of his duties following a six-game Eastern Conference Finals ouster by Indiana.
Now, his future with the team, beyond coaching possibilities, is becoming clearer.
Per Ian Begley and Alex Smith of SNY.tv, Thibodeau will not be given a role in president Leon Rose‘s front office going forward. The three-year, $30MM contract extension he inked with the team last summer has yet to kick in. Thibodeau brought the Knicks to four playoff appearances during his five seasons in charge, posting a 226-174 regular season record and a 24-23 playoff record.
There’s more out of New York:
In another piece, Begley reveals that he does not believe whomever is selected to serve as the Knicks’ 32nd head coach will be made to hold onto assistant Rick Brunson. Brunson, father to All-NBA New York guard Jalen Brunson, worked under Thibodeau throughout Thibodeau’s stint with the team. Conversely, however, Begley wonders if firing Rick Brunson might kick off a new coach’s relationship with Jalen Brunson on the wrong foot.
Although Rockets head coach Ime Udoka has been floated as a possible next Knicks coach, a Houston sources tells The Athletic’s Kelly Iko (via Twitter) that Houston does not intend to make him available.
Two-time champion UConn coach Dan Hurley has indicated he has no interest in taking the Knicks gig, per Dom Amore of The Hartford Courant. “Not another summer of that,” Hurley said, alluding to the Lakers’ 2024 pursuit of his services. Sources tell Dan Burges of The New Haven Register that the Huskies are hardly concerned that Hurley will actually leave.