Ian Begley, SNY.tv | Twitter |
The Knicks' coaching search may officially start later this week.
The NBA Board of Governors is expected to approve a plan Thursday to re-start the season that doesn't include New York, according to ESPN.
Once the Knicks know that they won't be playing any more games in 2019-20, they will likely start to interview candidates for the job.
With that in mind, we reached out to one current NBA coach and one former NBA coach to gauge their thoughts on some Knicks candidates.
Below are their thoughts on how Tom Thibodeau would fit in New York...
SCHEMES
"He's an elite defensive coach. There's no question. Those guys will be playing hard for him and, if they follow his scheme, they'll defend the pick-and-roll well. They'll take away drives and control the paint. His schemes are excellent, but as we saw in Minnesota, the schemes alone can't offset lack of effort from players or subpar defenders. I think RJ Barrett has the frame and athleticism to be a talented defender. Mitchell Robinson has a ton of upside on that end as a shot-blocker. Tom should be able to get the best out of those two and whoever else they put on the court."
The Knicks of the 1990s -- when Thibodeau was an assistant here -- were known for their intensity on defense. They've struggled on that end of the floor for most of the past 20 years. If improving on defense is a priority for the Knicks, Thibodeau has the credentials to make it happen. His Bulls teams ranked no lower than 11th in defensive efficiency.
What about the other end of the floor?
"On offense, the Knicks in general need to shoot more threes and open things up," the former coach said. "A lot of that depends on personnel, of course. I'd be curious to see who Tom brings in on his staff. Hiring someone who is creative on offense and has a modern view of the game seems like a key to me.
"If you have weaknesses, the person sitting next to you better do that job well."
PLAYER DEVELOPMENT
The Knicks began last season with the league's fifth-youngest roster, based on the average age of players on the roster. The team has three selections within the first 38 picks in the 2020 Draft. So if Thibodeau is hired, he'll probably be tasked with helping many young Knicks reach their potential, particularly Barrett.
Thibodeau's Bulls teams had several player-development success stories (Jimmy Butler and Taj Gibson as examples). So his track record is strong. But the head coach is only as good as his surrounding staff when it comes to player development, the veteran coach we spoke to said.
"He's got to hire the best people for player development. Target the top-five teachers of the game who are available and go after them," the coach said.
Knicks interim head coach Mike Miller is respected by many in the organization for the way he and his staffs have developed players in the G League. That's one reason why people at Madison Square Garden would like to see Miller retained in some fashion if Thibodeau -- or another coach -- is hired by Rose, as SNY reported in March.
Video: What are the odds that the Knicks draft LaMelo Ball?
PLAYING TIME/PRACTICE TIME
One of the biggest criticisms of Thibodeau is that his approach to practices and playing time wear players out. Whether this is a valid criticism or not depends on who you ask and their perspective on the matter. In a series of recent interviews, Thibodeau has said that he learned a lot about practice approaches while visiting with teams over the past several months. If you listen to those interviews, you come away with the impression that Thibodeau may adjust his approach to practice in order to keep his players as fresh as possible over the course of the regular season and the playoffs.
"My experience this past year in going around and visiting a number of different teams and seeing it -- and it's been evolving this way for probably the last three or four years -- there's different ways to manage practice," Thibodeau said in an interview with First Take.
"There's load management, there's sports scientists, there's situations in which your young guys are practicing a little bit more and your older vets are doing less and you're separating the two, and you're bringing them in toward the end of practice to do whatever needs to be done to prepare for that next game. So I think utilizing all the resources that you now have, understanding how to use them, how to manage that, has become critical. I think player care, player wellness, those things are prioritized. I think the big thing is, what does it take to be successful in the playoffs? And if we look at that, you start the season with those things in mind and prepare for the entire season."
Regardless of how he approaches playing time/practice time, several players have relayed that Thibodeau's work ethic as a coach is impressive. "He's always in the gym; first one in there all the time," one said. "He doesn't stop working."
That may not mean much to you, but it could have an impact on Thibodeau's players if he ends up coaching in New York.
APPROACH WITH PLAYERS
"That hard edge, it doesn't work now. In 2008, maybe it worked some of the time. In this generation, I'm positive that it doesn't work. In the NBA to be an elite coach, you've got to have an edge but you can't be crazy. To coach players and hold them accountable you have to find that balance. You don't compromise your authority, but this generation communicates differently."
One of the narratives around Thibodeau is that he is tough on his players. Again, whether that's accurate or not depends on who you talk to and their perspective on the matter. Thibodeau's approach, according to some reports, rubbed young players like Karl Towns the wrong way in Minnesota. Again, only Towns, Thibodeau and a few others know whether those reports are accurate. But the veteran NBA coach we spoke to said that a head coach's most important job in the league today is to "figure out how to coach your best player."
"Without babying him, you've got to spend time with him -- locker room, office, stands, outside of the work setting. (Clippers coach) Doc Rivers is a master at that," the coach said. "You've got to have a daily conversation. When your star is playing hard for you, everything else falls into place. Again, I'm not saying you have to be subservient or compromise yourself. But the way to connect to players today has changed. Be old school with your fundamentals, because those haven't changed, but be new-school as a communicator."
Knicks veteran Taj Gibson played for Thibodeau with the Bulls, where the head coach produced the second-best winning percentage in franchise history (behind only Phil Jackson). Gibson was asked about Thibodeau in February due to the coach's connection with Knicks president Leon Rose. Gibson was quick to praise interim head coach Mike Miller and didn't want his thoughts to be seen as an endorsement of Thibodeau. But he strongly suggested that Thibodeau would adapt from his experiences in Chicago and Minnesota.
"If you want to win, he can do it. If the main goal is about winning and developing guys and pushing guys to the limit, (he can do it). Not everybody is capable of (accepting) the coaching. But it's proof in the pudding. You look at a lot of the guys he's had over the years; a lot of them was hard-nosed and a lot of them give him his due credit," Gibson said.
"But everybody can adjust (their coaching style). I'm sure he's learned from his past stints with Minnesota and just like everybody else, everybody's human (and can adjust). Everybody learns to (by past experience) to have better relationships."
In March, we reported that agents and other coaches with a vested interest in the Knicks' coaching search said they believed Thibodeau is the most likely hire if Rose decides not to retain Miller as head coach. Rose and Thibodeau have a close relationship. Nothing has happened since then to alter the thinking of those coaches and agents.
Other outlets have reported that Thibodeau is the favorite for job, which is essentially saying the same thing. Miller and former Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson will likely interview for the opening. It's unclear if the Knicks plan to interview other coaches.
Those interviews are expected to begin once New York has clarity on the rest of the season.
