According to a report from Steve Bulpett of Heavy, Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau is in hot water with team management for the team’s performance this season.
“If Thibodeau survives half of next season, it’ll be a miracle,” a source told Bulpett, a former Boston Herald columnist who covered Thibodeau during his years as a Celtics assistant, in late January.
Given the Knicks’ performance since the end of January, Bulpett said the removal before the halfway-point of next season may be a more generous timeframe.
“Turns out the gentleman was prescient, though he may want to take the under on that Thibodeau removal,” Bulpett wrote.
Perhaps Bulpett is onto something. This week, SNY's Ian Begley reported that internal discussions around the team between executive William Wesley and owner James Dolan have centered around Thibodeau’s coaching, with Wesley “laying the blame for the season—at least in part” on how the veteran coach has handled this year's team.
Begley says he would be surprised if the team moved on from Thibodeau “at this point,” but notes that “stranger things have happened in pro sports.”
After the Knicks went 41–31 last season and made the franchise’s first trip to the playoffs since 2013, the team has struggled to a 25–34 record at the All-Star break. The record places the Knicks in the 12th spot in the East, 3.5 games clear of the 10th seed, which would put New York in the playoff play-in tournament.
Unless the Knicks put together a strong second half of the season, the team is in jeopardy of missing the playoffs once again.
