Hire Tom Thibodeau

Tim Floyd never came back to the NBA with that .205 winning percentage in 3+ seasons coaching the Bulls and admitted he was wasn't a very good NBA coach. I see the same fate for Fizdale and his .201 Knick winning percentage except if you ask him he'd probably tell you I'm a very good NBA coach.

Johnnie Bryant coming over from Utah?s bench to become associate coach under Thibodeau. Bryant is another player development guy and obviously he worked with Donovan Mitchell in Utah.

Utah paper saying he's the Jazz most important asst coach says he's a quality hire.






SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Jazz are losing arguably their most important assistant coach.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported Tuesday that Johnnie Bryant will be hired by the New York Knicks to be associate head coach under new head coach Tom Thibodeau. Bryant, who played collegiately at the University of Utah, joined the Jazz staff in 2012 as a player development assistant and was promoted to assistant coach in 2014 when Quin Snyder was hired as head coach.
Throughout his time with the Jazz, Bryant has built a reputation as a great player developer, most notably being a central figure in the development of All-Stars Gordon Hayward and Donovan Mitchell.
The Jazz said Tuesday that Bryant will remain with the team in the NBA’s bubble in Orlando through the duration of their playoff run.
Bryant becomes the second key member in the Utah organization to leave for the Knicks over the past few months, as longtime vice president of player personnel Walt Perrin departed in May to become an assistant general manager in New York.
Bryant continues a pipeline of Jazz assistants under Snyder who have gotten promotions, as Igor Kokoskov was head coach of the Phoenix Suns and Antonio Lang is now an assistant with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Woodson likely next one to officially come aboard. Sounds like Mike Miller will not be joining Thibodeau?s staff.

Too bad for Miller, looks like he became the odd man out with Rose and WW wanting their guys and Thibs wanting his guys. I hope he can hook up with another team, read the Knicks may hire him as a scout but the guy is a coach not a scout.

Wish Miller the best... he should latch on to a nice college gig, or pursue NBA hope by taking asst coach job somewhere.

Just imagine... if the team improved that much from Horn/Fiz to Miller... is that a reflection of how crappy the former were or does it speak to the prowess of the later?

I think we may find that coaching is quite impactful, even in today?s modern NBA. What improvements this team may make, and quicker than you might believe, under Thibs and his new super crew of software developers...

We will be a 40 win team.

NY Post

A source told The Post after Tom Thibodeau was hired that Miller was disappointed and may not campaign for a return to the staff despite his solid work after taking over for David Fizdale on Dec. 4. Miller went 17-27 as interim coach.

According to sources, Thibodeau had agreed to allow the front office have heavy input into the coaching staff and that has prevented him from immediately hiring his usual guys such as Ed Pinckney, the Greer brothers and Dice Yashimoto, who is working for the University of Georgia. It is believed, however, that Andy Greer and Yoshimoto are still under consideration.


Sources contend Knicks vice president William Wesley pushed for Kentucky assistant Kenny Payne, Johnnie Bryant and Mike Woodson, whose hiring appears imminent. That made Miller?s inclusion dicey because Thibodeau would be limited in hiring his own guys.

Sources contend Miller was considered strongly for the permanent job after a solid interview.

I don't blame Miller for being pissed about this one. He did a good job with a **** roster and he should've been given more of a chance to interview. If he wants to go somewhere else and find his own assistants, then fine.

At the same time, if you're going to hire a head coach (Thibs), then you need to let him bring in his guys. It's not fair to hire him and force him to take an entire staff of assistants that he doesn't know. Miller should be able to find a job as an assistant somewhere. He can coach our G-League team if he can't find a job as an assistant, I'm sure they'd be glad to have him back

Thibs brings in 2 of his guys Andy Greer and Dice Yoshimoto, along with Woody. Haven’t heard they want to bring in someone else but it seems to me there is still room for another hire for Thibs staff.

Those 2 Thibs?s guys were rumored to be coming all along. Glad to see he was able to bring in some familiar faces...

Glad to see Woodson is returning too!

Feels good to be home, happy with all the coaching changes finally looking like we will have accountability back at the garden. These last few seasons have been nuts , would have loved to have Miller back on the staff!

tiger0330 said:

Thibs brings in 2 of his guys Andy Greer and Dice Yoshimoto, along with Woody. Haven?t heard they want to bring in someone else but it seems to me there is still room for another hire for Thibs staff.

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I Agree .. Thibs wasn't my first or 2nd (Mark or Kidd) choice to become the Knicks new head-coach to start the 2020-21 season.
Thibs does have the experience in coaching an above .500 team, and hopefully influence in the FA market to guide the Knicks young-core players.

Report: Tom Thibodeau Adds Mike Woodson, Two More Assistants to Knicks Coaching Staff

Thibodeau, 62, already brought along former University of Kentucky men?s basketball assistant coach Kenny Payne, another CAA connection along with Knicks President Leon Rose and special advisor William ?World Wide Wes? Wesley. Utah Jazz assistant Johnnie Bryant reportedly joined the organization last week as associate head coach.

Woodson, a CAA client as well, rejoins the New York franchise after departing the team in April 2014. Woodson was a former assistant under Mike D?Antoni during the two-time Coach of the Year?s tenure in the Big Apple, later getting promoted to head coach midseason in March of 2012 following D?Antoni?s departure. Woodson later coached the Knicks in both the 2012 and 2013 NBA playoffs?the last times New York has clinched a postseason berth.
Woodson last sat on the Los Angeles Clippers? bench from 2014?18 under Doc Rivers, Thibodeau?s former boss with the Boston Celtics.

Greer, 58, is a former Thibodeau understudy who worked with the one-time NBA champion in both Chicago and Minnesota. Greer also returns to the Knicks after an assistant coaching stint back in 2001?03, when he joined the bench with Thibodeau and former head coach Jeff Van Gundy, later staying on after the current ESPN broadcaster left for the Houston Rockets.
Lastly, Daisuke ?Dice? Yoshimoto reunites with Thibodeau in New York. SNY?s Ian Begley reports the assistant coach has worked in the past with Thibs. He used to be a video coordinator. According to the New York Post, Yoshimoto is the University of Georgia director of strategy and worked with Thibodeau in his last two stops.

With Thibodeau, Bryant, Payne, Woodson, Greer, and Yoshimoto, Leon Rose and the Knicks should largely have their bench filled during a tumultuous quasi-offseason, as the Knicks were eliminated from further competition in essence on March 12. The 2020?21 season has not have a finalized start date, with even free agency and the 2020 NBA Draft in October subject to be delayed again, reportedly.

This has left the Knicks in a purgatory, although there is movement to bring the eight originally eliminated teams together in a new bubble for organized exhibition. The Thibodeau hire and further hires for his coaching staff comes at a times where more former playoff teams are now opening vacancies at head coach, like the Indiana Pacers and Philadelphia 76ers.

It?s encouraging, bc for the first time since we traded Ewing to SEA... we actually have a plan in place, it?s being implemented, and we can already see the
Beginning of something...

Perry cleared the books and accumulated picks, he brought in Knox, MRob and RJ.

We have a foundation, picks to replenish, we have cap space, we have a proven NBA coach and an all star cast of assistant and developers and front office execs... Dolan has money.

If not now, when? We?re bound to get lucky sooner or later.

mafra said:

It?s encouraging, bc for the first time since we traded Ewing to SEA... we actually have a plan in place, it?s being implemented, and we can already see the
Beginning of something...

Perry cleared the books and accumulated picks, he brought in Knox, MRob and RJ.

We have a foundation, picks to replenish, we have cap space, we have a proven NBA coach and an all star cast of assistant and developers and front office execs... Dolan has money.

If not now, when? We?re bound to get lucky sooner or later.

Click to expand...

Hiring a head-coach Thibodeau, and a coaching-staff of Bryant, Payne, Woodson, Greer, and Yoshimoto .. Gives the Knicks a decent defensive-coaching staff, what the new coaching-staff does not have are a NBA experience coach to guide/develop the Knicks young-core Guards growth throughout the season on their staff ....
Payton, Frank, Smith will need a "Thibs" team-plan for their play-maker skills,
and Barrett, Dotson, and the 2020 Draft pick will need a "Thibs" team plan to play complimentary (same-page) b.ball.