Figures across the NBA came to the defense of Tom Thibodeau after the New York Knicks fired their coach just days after a trip to the Eastern Conference finals, including Knicks players themselves. The move resonated throughout the league’s coaching ranks too, and Detroit Pistons leader J.B. Bickerstaff had sharp words for the Knicks and for other franchises across the NBA who moved on in past offseasons from established and successful coaches.
When asked how the Knicks’ move was received by other coaches and teams, Bickerstaff denounced the move in particular and the overarching trend it represents. For context, Thibodeau snapped the Knicks’ seven-year playoff drought in his first year at the helm, took the squad to the second round in consecutive seasons and was two wins away in 2025 from reaching the NBA Finals.
“It’s the final straw, I think, of what’s happened this season and the level of respect we feel coaches deserve versus what they’re getting,” Bickerstaff said on ESPN Radio. “Some of the decisions made down the stretch firing coaches, it just shows there are some places that don’t value what coaching is and what it can bring. When you’re a coach, you feel like there’s a job that you’ve been told to do. And when you go out and do that job well, you should carry over to the next year. If you’ve had past successes, that should envision future successes.”
Knicks coaching search: New York to formally interview Taylor Jenkins, Mike Brown next week, per reports
Bryan DeArdo
The Knicks carried championship goals into the 2024-25 seasons after they loaded up on talent last offseason, acquiring Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges. They completed their best playoff run in a quarter century but squandered the opportunity to reach the NBA Finals when they conceded their home-court advantage in a series loss to the Indiana Pacers.
“You can’t guess what the future’s going to look like with somebody new,” Bickerstaff said. “We understand it and we know the job we signed up for is a dangerous job, but from a coach’s standpoint, it’s our responsibility to be honest and tell the truth. Our job is extremely difficult. And to win in the NBA is extremely difficult. To build teams in the NBA is extremely difficult. To lead guys who have the superstar power in the NBA is extremely difficult.
“So when a guy does a great job at it, from the outside looking in, we want to see that guy get rewarded. It seems to be cases now where guys who do great jobs aren’t even being rewarded with the next year.”
Player input reportedly sounded alarms within the Knicks franchise and factored into the decision to move on from Thibodeau, who by the end of his tenure was one of the team’s most accomplished coaches of the century.
Multiple franchises stonewalled the Knicks in their search for a Thibodeau replacement, denying them the ability to speak with sitting coaches. They turned their focus to a pair of former coaches in Taylor Jenkins and Mike Brown, with whom they will hold formal interviews next week.
