As everyone looks forward to the resumption of the 2019/2020 NBA season, teams are already making plans to improve themselves. For the New York Knicks, one of their top priorities is to find someone to fill the position of head coach. Those considered to take up the role include Mike Miller, Kenny Atkinson, John Calipari, and Tom Thibodeau. Among all of them, Thibodeau seems like a favourite for the job, ahead of Knicks’ current interim coach.
While there is no official statement about who the job could go to, a report by Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News mentions several sources, probably close to the Knicks top management, who want Thibodeau for the job. Although there are other people who the job could go to, Bondy says the job is “Thibodeau’s to lose.”
But those at Knicks are not the only ones who think the Thibodeau should take up the job as he is also confident that the job would be his that he has started making calls to put up a team for when he starts. To make things better, he is friends with the president of basketball operations at Knicks, Leon Rose. So all of that adds to the odds in his favour.
Thibodeau, who is still under contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves up till the next season, is not under any hurry to join any team and has even described reports that he might join the Knicks as rumours.
He said, “They’re just rumors. That’s what it is. This time of year everything is on hold. Normally, you would have some openings, and right now there aren’t any openings. I’m still under contract with Minnesota, so I feel like I’m in a position where I can be patient.”
The Knicks as well are not in a hurry for anyone to fill the position. What they need now is someone who can help rebuild the team rather than someone who would help the team win.
While Thibodeau has coaching experience, having coached the Chicago Bulls between 2010 and 2015, as wells as the Timberwolves between 2016 and 2019, he may not have the force needed for this current roster and to move the team ahead. But Thibodeau remains the best choice for the Knicks and would be the best coach they would hire in a long time.
Written by: Leon Osamor
