Thibs

Could New York Knick Fans Derail The Current Front Office And Head Coach Alignment?

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New York Knicks, James Dolan

The New York Knicks been probing the National Basketball Association for a head coach for roughly two decades. Even though the hiring of Tom Thibodeau dragged for seven weeks, the franchise been running through head coaches and assistant coaches since the resignation of Jeff Van Gundy nineteen games into the 2001-02 NBA season.

Current Knick President Leon Rose was a former agent with Creative Artists Agency, and Tom Thibodeau was one of his clients. Leon Rose hired long time acquaintance William Wesley as the Executive Vice President. William Wesley, also known as “World Wide Wes”, was called a goodwill ambassador by John Calipari in regards to the University of Kentucky’s basketball program.

William Wesley was a well-connected consultant for Creative Artists Agency before being hired as an executive for the Knicks. With all the strong connections between the front office and the head coach, could Knick fans derail this current front office and head coach alignment?

There’s an old saying that states “pressure busts pipes”. When the Knicks are losing, Madison Square Garden becomes a microwave to certain players who melt under MSG’s bright lights in the presence of displeased die-hard fans who spent their hard-earned money on a Knicks ticket.

James Dolan has a history of making changes based on negative press and displeasure from the fan base. Growing pains are expected during the process of relevancy, however, it would be in James Dolan’s best interest not to overreact to a few bumps along the way to become a good basketball team.

If Dolan learned anything from the past, one thing that’s crucial is the stability of an organization. A culture of stability can catapult the Knicks from decades of losing into decades of winning. Stabilization of a work atmosphere and franchise will allow the front office to make sound decisions. It will even trickle down to the Knick players on the basketball court in a positive way.

Overall, it’s a great hire by the New York Knicks. Coach Tom Thibodeau is a man who has no time for lack of effort especially on the defensive side of the ball. His prior head coaching tenures didn’t work partially due to lack of cohesion with prior front offices.

It appears now that Thibodeau, Leon Rose, and William Wesley are on the same page. Turnover is going to happen as it always does with a new president. However, the Knick front office and head coach seems to have some remanence of stability. New York Knick fans have every right to be optimistic about the direction of the franchise under the new regime.

New York Knicks Newly Hired Head Coach Tom Thibodeau Could Run The Offense Through RJ Barrett

by
New York Knicks, RJ Barrett

The New York Knicks have a new franchise head coach and he’s no stranger to the organization. Tom Thibodeau has signed a five year deal to become the head coach for the New York Knicks after rumors circulated that former Milwaukee Bucks and Brooklyn Nets Head Coach, Jason Kidd became the front runner for the vacant position on July 25th 2020. It is official. Now it may be possible that Tom Thibodeau runs the Knick offense through RJ Barrett. Will the former Maple Mamba’s basketball stock price rise drastically under ahead Coach Tom Thibodeau? Will the new coach run the offense through RJ Barrett?

Tom Thibodeau loves extremely competitive natured guys playing for him. We’ve seen certain players under Coach Thibs tutelage in the past who had that ultra-competitive characteristic, such as the Jimmy Butlers’ of the world along with Derrick Rose, Luol Deng, and even Joakim Noah.

Tom Thibodeau even had his imprint as a Knicks assistant during the Knicks 1999 NBA Championship push which also consisted of silent shooting assassin Allan Houston, scoring assassin Latrell Sprewell, Marcus Camby, Chris Childs, Larry Johnson, Charlie Ward, and Kurt Thomas just to name a few tough competitors. Every name I’ve just mentioned spent time under Tom Thibodeau and none of them backed down or feared anybody. Tom Thibodeau was under the tutelage of former Knick coach Jeff Van Gundy from 1996 until Jeff Van Gundy’s resignation in 2001. However, Thibodeau maintained his assistant position with the Knicks until 2004. The two have been in the trenches and have great respect for one another.

RJ Barrett fits that mold of toughness and grit. The former Duke Blue Devil doesn’t need a motor mentor, he’s already got it within and it shows on the court nightly. RJ Barrett proudly stated he’s built for New York City in an interview with ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith before he got drafted. Furthermore, if Tom Thibodeau can run an offense through former Chicago Bulls forward Luol Deng and get positive results, what will happen if he decides to do the same with Barrett in his prime in two years from now.

RJ’s basketball growth may even be sooner depending upon Barrett’s pace of improvement going into his second year in the league. No worries there due to RJ’s tenacious work ethic. Tom Thibodeau got the most out of Jimmy Butler as well. Jimmy Butler’s upside was even lower than Barrett’s upon entering the league as a late first round draft pick by the Chicago Bulls in the summer of 2011. RJ Barrett and Mitchell Robinson are the cornerstones that’ll benefit greatly under the Knicks new coach.

Overall, RJ Barrett’s potential compatibility with Tom Thibodeau looks very promising. The former Canadian star may not be the only one on the roster benefitting with Thibs being hired, however, the 20 year old seems like an obvious candidate for swift improvement under the tutelage of Coach Thibodeau who is basically a well prepared NBA coach on a nightly basis. Tom Thibodeau will have the New York Knicks representing the blue-collar city properly and competing on a nightly basis by any means necessary.