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96 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2025.04.15)”
I just find it hard to believe that Dolan would fire a dude before his extension even kicks in.
Yeah, Brian, there would have to be a strong belief that the team is underperforming under Thibs, or that key players were starting to tune him out. A first round loss would fit the first criterion. As to the second, I wouldn’t expect Brunson to gripe, but I could see any of Hart, OG, KAT or Mikal being the source of internal sniping or passive-aggressive stuff that leaks out.
The other thing that could happen is if Thibs gets told to change some things by the FO and he either refuses (like when he didn’t play Reddish) or complies in a dismissive way (like when he ground Kemba’s knees into dust).
But I don’t see it happening unless we lose in the first round.
I don’t know, if we get swept or a gentleman’s sweep in the second round and some of those games are blow outs with Thibs not really changing our approach or strategy, I could see him getting canned. Two years ago we got to the second round and lost in 6. Last year we got to the second round, were up 2-0 and then lost in 7 after getting decimated by injuries. Even though it would be Boston, getting swept or losing in 5 in a non-competitive series would be considered a step back.
I don’t think Thibs’ extension is anything to worry about. Firing him and having to pay him to not coach….yeah it would be a lot of money but considering how well Leon has done overall and how much money he’s made Dolan by making The Knicks respectable again, I don’t think Dolan would blink.
I could also see a scenario where Thibs “retires” from coaching and moves into a FO position as an assistant to Leon or some other capacity, allowing him to save face. I could see it playing out this way because A)Leon is all about appearances and doing right by players (and by coaches), B)him and Thibs are close and C) despite his flaws Thibs has been integral to turning things around for this organization and laying down “the culture.”
Alah Hahn with a very good interview with Kendrick Perkins.
https://x.com/DHRonESPN/status/1911889776405561635
That’s the argument I’ve been making all season.
The other thing is that in an interview Dolan talked about the value of stability over seasons. It sounded like his mindset was that this team was mostly a finished product and just needed a few seasons together. I assumed that meant the coach also given the extension.
I think this team needs a core change, but they may just try to improve the bench and run it back.
We are going to be complaining about Thibs for a long time.
Maybe he works more three point shots into the mix.
I would guess it is more likely than not that Thibs is back, for good or for ill. That said, among the traits Leon Rose has demonstrated as POBO:
1. If he makes a mistake (Cam trade, Kemba/Fournier backcourt and bringing back almost everyone from the We Here team), he is more than prepared to move on from it quickly, rather than doubling down in an attempt to prove he was right the first time.
2. While he cares deeply about relationships, he cares more about the team. Donte and Randle were not happy to go to Minnesota, Donte especially, but Leon did it to get KAT. His relationship to Thibs is perhaps the tightest he has outside of Worldwide Wes, so it may be harder from him to be cold-hearted about it than he’s been with other guys. But if he genuinely believes the team has plateaued under Thibs, I think he can convince Dolan to eat the contract extension. Dolan has paid a LOT of guys to not coach here in the past, don’t forget. Wasn’t there a period where we were simultaneously paying 3, if not 4, head coaches’ salaries at the same time?
Barring a players’ revolt, a currently great coach deciding to leave their team and saying they want to come here, or an absolute catastrophic showing in the playoffs I think it’s pretty safe to assume that Thibs will be back next season. But, unless we see some real improvement in how the team plays I would think his seat will start getting real hot.
Relationships are relationships but the team’s performance on the floor is paramount. This is where at the end of the day everyone is judged. That having been said, the weaknesses of this season’s Knicks roster are obvious and, although the team slightly underperformed, I believe Thibs will be seriously judged next season while coaching an improved roster. A catastrophic playoff collapse will change things, of course.
can’t remember who said it earlier but i agree: either a first round loss or an totally uncompletitive second round would probably force leon’s hand on thibs
The only thing that would force his hand is the players imo. If they don’t like Thibs they move on. But they seem to like him.
I can’t see a second round loss being the trigger. First round maybe.
Wasn’t that interview with the players he had recently destabilized by trading their other roommate?
Shams says NOLA is finalizing a deal to hire Joe Dumars. Which means respect must be paid to one of the great NBA photos of all time:
https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5b1c5756-68e9-409c-9098-51e4b00d2a02_640x417.png
Great photo
I hope the Knicks feign interest in KD for a few months and then do nothing.
I get long term relationships and difficult decisions but Leon knew the day he hired Thibs that he is probabaly going to have to fire him too. It’s all good, especially after getting his boy paid again last summer.
Thibs outcoached J.B. Bickerstaff two season ago. He’ll probably do it again. Thibs got the team to win 50+ games and entered playoffs both rested and healthy. Criticism silenced & now he has to go up against Mazzullo, bring his A-game and see how the chips stack.
We desperately need a 2025 playoff hype video.
https://x.com/FletcherWDSU/status/1906160233707086049 Hollinger and Nate Duncan ranked the 30 Head Coaches
i think i was like 0 for 6 last year on picking the winner of the play in games…
so here we go for today’s games:
Atlanta over Orlando
Memphis over Golden State
my new strategy to increase and ensure my accuracy is to pick opposite of what i think may actually happen…
let’s see how things work out this year…
i hope that we dont even fake interest in getting KD because i don’t want to think about hera about have any discussions about it the speak it into existence thing
https://x.com/automaticnba/status/1911811261257429111 Raptors are building an interesting team and the Ryan Dunn scouting report was on point.
steven a smith says he has no choice but to run for president now i guess he’s going to fix everything
This Thibs conundrum is a doozy for me. Warts and all- he is still a really good coach, and I am still a Thibs fan. My Thibs appreciation does not stop me from wanting a better coach if there’s one available. I’m a Knicks fan first and always. But who do we know of that’s clearly better and available? I’m of the belief that Thibs, Budz, Jenkins, and Malone are at the same level. Or at least, there’s not much separating them as far as coaching ability goes. I guess the biggest question between them is who fits better. Take Budz for instance. Really good coach, but he has never really been known for his defensive schemes- so Thibs has the advantage there. I don’t think you’d want Budz coaching a team with KAT at the 5. Malone won a chip, but is he clearly a better coach than Thibs? I wouldn’t mind swapping Thibs out for Malone because he has those same 90’s Knicks vibes and ties. Jenkins probably coached the roster most similar to ours, but with JJJ anchoring the defense and doing a better job than KAT. But I still don’t know if he’s clearly better than Thibs.
We do, however, have the ability to get Thibs pieces that better fit what he needs. We can start Mitch, and find a backup big to compliment he and Huk. Or..we can maybe trade into the late 1st and draft Thomas Sorber to play next to KAT. I would personally love that. It would give us size, BBIQ, rebounding, more defensive length, and not kill spacing. Hart can go back to the bench to help Deuce lead it, and hopefully Dadiet or McCullar takes a step forward.
My point is, if we’re stuck with Thibs, there are ways to not make it a bad thing. Unless, of course, there are clearcut better coaching options available. I’m just not sure there are any, unless Hurley comes over or JVG wants to be a HC again lol
I just thought of something. I don’t have cable and I’m not subscribed to any live TV packages. Gonna be SO FUN hunting down streams for playoff basketball. I got by during the regular season because I have League Pass. But now that the playoffs are national TV, League Pass is useless.
Yay meeeee
I need to know what SAS’s position on Daylight Savings Time is before I commit.
Poindexter i’m in the exact same boat re League Pass/playoffs it hit me like a ton of bricks yesterday morning. it’s a major gap of the service although i understand not infringing on other netwroks playoff contracts
SAS has to much of a TV Clown reputation so it’s a little hard to take him seriously. Same as Jim Cramer. I would love love to see him debate democrats because he’d win every argument. Can you imagine SAS vs Mark Cuban…lol – SAS is an overall net positive. The party will be better if he runs.
no political experince whatsoever he’s no bill bradley but i cuess it could be worse fer sure at least we wouldn’t have to hear his bad knicks takes anymore
Post of the thread so far lol
Although this is pretty good too
Get Sling for 2 months… Stephen A. is a rough rider. He should be president.
Not to turn this thread political, but have you seen our current President?
Facts…but what I was saying is that his base watched him act as a boss on TV. Either way, would love to see SAS run…he’s very articulate & a ton of fun.
Hmm I guess I’m the only one who ever found SAS to be an obnoxious blowhard idiot
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Su349D0DB4
found a hype video…need a few of these to hold me til Saturday
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/SwyO7uyJo0Q
definitely smith is obnoxious and a blowhard not sre if he’s an idiot or not i don’t want him anywhere near dc but would still take him in heardbeat over current.
I don’t disagree too much with the coaching rankings, especially as once you’re past the top tier they don’t make a ton of difference, but both Udoka and Atkinson are too low and Mazzulla is too high.
Nico Harrison and Rick Welts just held some kind of roundtable with selected press where recording devices were not allowed. The quotes dripping out of it from those reporters sound like Nico is going to win even more friends in the greater Dallas area, and among NBA fandom in general.
liked the hype video a little long for my tastes but thanx nothing will ever beat https://x.com/BaileyCarlin/status/1778787980179575234?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1780281254375559248%7Ctwgr%5E053041d32a0165a007459b2c377c1bf39879f690%7Ctwcon%5Es3_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.redditmedia.com%2Fmediaembed%2F1c5leuy%2F%3Fresponsive%3Dtrueis_nightmode%3Dfalse
I don’t know what’s worse: being a Suns fan or a Mavs fan rn. At least the Mavs have some flexibility moving forward and no heinous contracts (unless AD gets hurt for long periods of time).
It would be pretty funny if the Mavs somehow won the Flagg sweepstakes.
The Suns and The Mavs both have 2 tradeable stars where they could probably net some picks back. But I think, all things considered, I’d rather be the Suns. If both teams were moving their best assets to get picks, I think Durant and Booker probably nets you more than AD and Kyrie?
Tough choice, ess-dog, but I would probably hate being a Mavs fan more at this point. Yes, the Suns are terribly boxed in by all these stupid choices they’ve made, but by all accounts, Booker still wants to be a Sun for life, and they should be able to start digging out a little just by trading Durant. And even if the Mavericks, when healthy, will be better, I just don’t think I would ever get over my team trading a homegrown future Hall of Famer — who did not ask or want to be traded — because the head of basketball ops is a shortsighted clown who only wants stars who have that Mamba mentality.
There’s at least two of us.
He bothers you less when you just accept that’s he’s a troll saying outrageous things for impact.
I think almost everyone thinks SAS is an idiot blowhard. The difference between us and his legion of fans is that they enjoy watching him be an idiot blowhard.
cromulent statomatic
Stopped watching that idiot a long time ago. I hate trolls.
I think the Mavs handled the Doncic situation worse than making the trade itself.
First, they threw Doncic under the bus for his fitness and off court habits. That angered fans and hurt him even more. Then they focused on whether he would sign a max contract (obviously yes) and whether he would stay healthy for a the duration of the contract.
They just should have said “We love Luka’s game and think he’s among the best playmakers and scorers in the league, but we think Davis is also an elite player that can impact games on both sides of ball. We think Davis fits our team building plans for the next few years perfectly. We also added Max Christie who looks like an up and coming young two-way player and a pick that gives us some flexibility to make further improvements”.
The fans still would have vomited, but the whole thing would have been less personal. It would have been a basketball disagreement.
I think it comes down to Nico being a fitness freak who simply can’t understand or respect an athlete who isn’t as fanatical about diet and exercise as he is. He thought Luka was a lazy slob, and that blinded him to everything else. And he keeps publicly doubling down because he is sure that eventually everyone else will see things the way he does.
Again, I will be annoyed if Nico just bailed the Lakers out of their latest mess and handed them another title (or more). On the other hand, a part of me wouldn’t hate it if the Lakers won this year, just to make Nico look like even more of a clown than he already does.
If Ess is right, dude has fully embraced the new schtick (which I can kind of respect, but suspect it won’t last)
Ha!
I was just thinking that if Donald Trump can talk enough shit to win him the presidency in spite of all the fuckery that’s been around him, SAS certainly can lol
Know what? That would be an interesting topic. Who would you like to see from the sports world run for president? Former players, current and former coaches, and media members who covered sports exclusively are included. I think either one of Mike Hill(FOX and formerly ESPN), Dawn Staley, Marcus Freeman, and Nancy Lieberman would be interesting
grant hill
oh..he’s right..it took me one post to get the radar up…and about two more to confirm it…especially with the intentional misspellings…
I too am curious how long it will last….its like a science experiment
That’s a nice one. He didn’t even cross my mind for some reason
Bill Bradley would have made an excellent president.
It’s all fun and games until somebody gets hurt. That said, Shame Battier always seemed like the sharpest tool in the shed. Probably why he wanted nothing to do with politics.
I dislike SAS so much it’s been nothing short of revelatory to see how popular he is and how well paid.
Someone needs to tell Nico to stop talking to the press.
The CEO also. He apparently knows next to nothing about basketball.
Steve Kerr?
kerr a great choice even better than grant hill i think his father was related to politics somehow even indirectly
His father was assassinated, but he was an academic not a politician.
Yeah, terrible story about Kerr’s dad.
I’d vote for Kerr before Hill. I like Hill though and have enjoyed his commentary of late.
I feel like they should put the Warriors on at 730 and just not televise the other game
Looking forward to ignoring all my responsibilities and loved ones and watching this meaningless game instead. I think the Hawks are maybe sneaky good.
Both the Hawks and Magic are 2-1 vs. Boston this season, so it doesn’t really matter who wins, either way the Celtics are toast (-;
good reminder clarification on kerrs dad thank you
Surprised nobody yet has mentioned Gregg Popovich as a good presidential candidate.
thought of him but too many old guys alreay need younger
Has anyone tried carmelo anthony’s STAYME7O couture cannabis products yet?
We should get ruru back for this one
mark jackso.. kidding
Maybe the magic and their defense is best against the celts?
yeah magic is tougher oppt. could also beat celts up more might even take two games instead of the 1 that hawks might get from them
oh wow Cory Joseph sighting
Banchero reminds me a lot of Melo. Had a beautiful airball Kobe assist there.
Honestly it should be Woj. And policy should be bombed out on Bluesky.
tre having a terrible game so far
Hawks look pretty eager to get to Cancun
The season series was pretty even, but not this game.
Banchero is Carmelo (and he’s not even going to be a top-5 all-time Orlando Magic)
Looks like I inadvertently jinxed the Hawks. Lets face it: either of these teams will get stomped by the Celts.
Hawks tightened it up at HT. banchero/melo comparison is on point.
“Hawks look pretty eager to get to Cancun”
Well maybe they’re just ducking the Celts…the loser lives to play another day…
Hawks did beat the Cavs twice this season.
These teams suck.
All the calls are going Atlanta’s way all of a sudden.
Trae ejected!
These teams are shitty but I kind of enjoy the Magic defense. No idea who Anthony Black is but he has had a night.
Trae is a shit
Looking forward to a Knicks Magic 2nd rd matchup.
A healthy Magic team is a LOT better than the Pistons.
If professional wrestlers count as athletes I’d vote for Kane, but he’d have to meet with foreign leaders in character.
A healthy Magic team still sucks offensively and would make the current Knicks defensively look like the 1994 Knicks.
I’m less sure about that. Our defense might give them a shot in the arm and their defense might stifle our offense a bit. We have the better team, but I’m glad we are playing the Pistons who think we should beat in 4 or 5 if we get a good coaching job.
Well, I think of all the bottom feeders, you would want the Magic to face Boston in round 1. They have no chance, but they are well coached and play defense so maybe they put a little scare into the Celtics
I don’t get the Melo-Banchero comparison.
I’m watching basketball instead of working (it’s morning here) and I’m wondering if Warriors fans worry about their team the way we worry about ours. Even with full playoff Jimmy (34 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists so far), the Grizzlies have come back from twenty points down snd tied it. And this after giving up a lead to the Clippers in the final seconds and losing the OT in a crucial final regular season game.
Bane does alot of stupid shit…
Good game. Warriors probably will prevail, but I like some of the adjustments by the Grizz.
How nice it would be to have Steph Curry on your team
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