Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle did not believe it at first when he saw the news that the New York Knicks had fired Tom Thibodeau just three days after he outcoached him in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals.
“When I first saw it, I thought it was one of those fake AI (artificial intelligence) things,” Carlisle told reporters on the eve of Game 1 of the NBA Finals. “No way. There’s no way possible.”
On Tuesday, the Knicks suddenly relieved Thibodeau of his coaching duties despite guiding them to their deepest postseason run in 25 years.
Thibodeau and the Knicks lost to a lower-seeded but deeper Pacers team coached by Carlisle, who is now in his second NBA Finals after guiding the Dallas Mavericks to the title in 2011.
Tom Thibodeau ‘Will Be Fine’
GettyTom Thibodeau talks to New York Knicks players in a huddle against the Boston Celtics in the playoffs. On Tuesday, June 3, Thibodeau was relieved of his duties.
Thibodeau joins Mike Budenholzer, Michael Malone, Taylor Jenkins and Mike Brown as the coaches who were fired this season.
“I get asked frequently about these things,” Carlisle added. “I always say shocked. Sometimes you get numb and you’re not shocked. The Knicks have such a unique situation with so much attention and such a large fan base and such a worldwide following, it’s one of the most difficult jobs to take. The guys that have been most successful, Red Holzman, Pat Riley, Jeff Van Gundy, Rick Pitino had a short run but a very effective run.
“There were a lot of lean years. Thibs went in there and changed so much. So, you look at all that, then what happened yesterday.”
Thibodeau lifted the franchise back to relevance. Under his watch, the Knicks broke an eight-year playoff drought in his first season at the helm. He guided them to four playoff berths in five seasons, winning at least one series over the last three postseasons.
Thibodeau leaves the Knicks as their fourth all-time winningest coach with 226 wins, trailing only Jeff Van Gundy (248), Joe Lapchick (326) and two-time champion coach Red Holzman (613).
“Teams and ownership can make these decisions unilaterally, and it’s their right to do that,” Carlisle told reporters. “So, Tom will certainly be fine. I don’t think he’s going to have any problem finding his next job. It’s just going to depend on when he’s ready to jump back in again.”
Knicks Wanted a New Voice
ESPN’s Tim Bontemps reported that the Knicks “decided a new voice was needed to lift this franchise to the next level.”
In a statement released by the Knicks announcing Thibodeau’s firing, team president Leon Rose underscored the team’s singular focus on winning a championship as the main reason why they made the move.
“This pursuit led us to the difficult decision to inform Tom Thibodeau that we’ve decided to move in another direction,” said Knicks President Leon Rose. “We can’t thank Tom enough for pouring his heart and soul into each and every day of being the New York Knicks head coach. He led us not only with class and professionalism for the past five seasons, but also to tremendous success on the court with four playoff berths and four playoff series victories. Ultimately, we made the decision we feel is best for our organization moving forward. Tom will always be a part of our Knicks family and we truly wish him nothing but the best in the future.”
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, Mavericks coach Jason Kidd and Houston Rockets coach Ime Udoka are “said to interest the Knicks” as potential Thibodeau successor.
