Knicks rumors: How player input factored into New York's decision to fire Tom Thibodeau
The post Knicks rumors: How player input factored into New York's decision to fire Tom Thibodeau appeared first on ClutchPoints.
Shortly after the New York Knicks were eliminated by the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals, they decided to surprisingly fire head coach Tom Thibodeau after a five-year run at the helm.
Advertisement
Thibs took the Knicks to their first conference final in 25 years, but Leon Rose and James Dolan ultimately made the call to cut ties with the veteran boss, who will surely land a job elsewhere. That being said, it appears the players had their say in the decision as well.
Via SNY's Ian Begley:
'According to SNY NBA Insider Ian Begley, player input during their end of season meetings with owner James Dolan in attendance was a factor in the ultimate decision to move on from Thibodeau.
'Players were respectful of the veteran coach, who they have a great deal of respect and admiration for, but they also pointed out in those meetings that there were things Thibodeau did that could be improved.'
Advertisement
Thibodeau has always been respected across the NBA by players and coaches. But, behind the scenes, there were clearly some things the Knicks players didn't love. That's despite him bringing a level of playoff success to the organization that they haven't seen in years.
The search now begins for their next coach, with Jason Kidd and Ime Udoka reportedly on their radar. The Houston Rockets have zero interest in even giving New York permission to speak with Udoka, while Kidd appears to be comfortable with the Dallas Mavericks. Michael Malone is another option after he was fired late in the season by the Denver Nuggets. He was previously an assistant for the Knicks.
New York has lots of candidates they can target, but this job doesn't come without pressure. Thibodeau embraced that and did the best he could to help make NY a winning franchise again. It just wasn't enough to help them end their 52-year championship drought.
Related: Bill Simmons questions the role Jalen Brunson's dad will play in Knicks' HC search
Related: NBA rumors: Knicks expected to make Jason Kidd request after Tom Thibodeau firing
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNET
42 minutes ago
- CNET
Today's NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints, Answers for June 12 #262
Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today's Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles. Today's Connections: Sports Edition could be tricky. That purple category, as always, really requires some historical knowledge. Read on for hints and the answers. Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That's a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn't show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic's own app. Or you can continue to play it free online. Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta Hints for today's Connections: Sports Edition groups Here are four hints for the groupings in today's Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group. Yellow group hint: Stop and recover. Green group hint: Gambling. Blue group hint: Where you gamble. Purple group hint: Baseball teams of the past. Answers for today's Connections: Sports Edition groups Yellow group: A pause for recovery. Green group: Casino table games. Blue group: Las Vegas teams. Purple group: Former MLB team names. Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words What are today's Connections: Sports Edition answers? The completed NYT Connections: Sports Edition for June 12, 2025. NYT/Screenshot by CNET The yellow words in today's Connections The theme is a pause for recovery. The four answers are break, breather, respite and rest. The green words in today's Connections The theme is casino table games. The four answers are baccarat, blackjack, craps and roulette. The blue words in today's Connections The theme is Las Vegas teams. The four answers are Aces, Golden Knights, Raiders and Runnin' Rebels. The purple words in today's Connections The theme is former MLB team names. The four answers are Devil Rays, Highlanders, Naps and Robins.
Yahoo
42 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Charles Barkley Takes Shot At Knicks After Firing Tom Thibodeau
Charles Barkley Takes Shot At Knicks After Firing Tom Thibodeau originally appeared on Athlon Sports. After defeating the defending champion Boston Celtics in six games, Tom Thibodeau and the New York Knicks saw their season come to an end in the Eastern Conference finals, falling to the Indiana Pacers. Advertisement Thibodeau joined the Knicks in 2020 and has made it to the NBA playoffs in four of his five seasons there. However, despite the recent success, New York elected to part ways with Thibodeau following its elimination. The Knicks have looked into interviewing four current NBA head coaches, including the Dallas Mavericks' Jason Kidd, the Minnesota Timberwolves' Chris Finch, the Houston Rockets' Ime Udoka and the Atlanta Hawks' Quin Snyder. However, according to ESPN's Shams Charania, the Hawks became the fourth team to deny the Knicks an interview, leaving New York empty-handed to begin its coaching search. Outside of these four potential candidates, New York hasn't revealed much of a plan going forward without Thibodeau. And NBA legend Charles Barkley does not approve. NBA analyst Charles Barkley criticized the New York Jairaj-Imagn Images On Wednesday, Barkley joined ESPN for its pregame coverage of Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder. The former Phoenix Suns forward was not pleased with New York's coaching decision, calling them out live on air. Advertisement "The Knicks gotta be the stupidest damn people in the world," Barkley said. "Like, you don't fire a good coach like that and don't have a plan. I mean, Thibs did a hell of a job. Obviously, something's going on there, but you don't have a plan, and now, the three coaches turn you down. You gotta have a plan, man. And they don't have a plan. Now... I mean, I don't know what the hell they are going to do." Although Thibodeau hasn't won an NBA championship as a head coach, he has still put together an impressive coaching resume. He won two NBA Coach of the Year awards and even led the Knicks to their first conference finals in 25 years. Related: Warriors Turn Heads With Steph Curry Post on Monday This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 12, 2025, where it first appeared.
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Mets' David Peterson shuts out Nationals: ‘This is what we strive for'
NEW YORK — With no one near him in the New York Mets dugout, David Peterson jumped up from his seat as soon as the Washington Nationals recorded the final out of the eighth inning. Peterson was ready. He had spent the last handful of minutes avoiding eye contact with Mets manager Carlos Mendoza. He wanted the chance at a shutout. Advertisement Peterson was the first one onto the field for the ninth inning, planting his feet on the mound well before anyone else reached their position. Before catcher Luis Torrens left the dugout, Mendoza told him Peterson had maybe eight or nine pitches left to throw. Good thing for Peterson that pitch efficiency is just one of a handful of things he's doing so well. Peterson needed just nine pitches in the ninth inning to finish a shutout in the Mets' 5-0 win over the Nationals on Wednesday night at Citi Field. In total, he threw 106 pitches. He allowed just six hits, no walks. He struck out six batters. 'This is what we strive for,' Peterson said. First career complete game shutout for @_David_Peterson! 👏 #LGM — New York Mets (@Mets) June 12, 2025 Peterson was referring to the idea of a starting pitcher staying in a game as long as possible. It's a bygone concept. 'You don't see this too often,' Mendoza said. Peterson is a throwback. It was fitting he'd throw the Mets' first shutout since Luis Severino's gem last August. Ask Peterson about how his expected numbers (expected ERA, expected slugging) point to regression each time he takes the ball, and he rolls his eyes with a smile. It's not that Peterson doesn't care for numbers. He pores over scouting reports pregame, Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo said, with intense inspection. It's just that he feels expected numbers, in particular, don't take into account the human element, the ability to execute the right pitch at the right location at the right time. Over and over again. Ask the Nationals batters about Peterson's expected numbers, and they raise their eyebrows, looking incredulous. 'There are a lot of guys, especially older vet guys, where the typical 'stuff' doesn't grade out and they get outs year in and year out,' Nationals outfielder James Wood said in an interview after the game. 'You gotta take those (expected numbers) with a grain of salt sometimes. You can't really live and die by numbers like that. Numbers aren't always gospel. He's a good example.' Advertisement Why? Wood offered a simple explanation. 'He just knows his stuff, knows how it plays and just makes good pitches,' Wood said. Peterson entered Wednesday's game with a 2.80 ERA and a 3.78 expected ERA, mostly because he allows a lot of hard contact (he ranks among the bottom 15 percent in hard-hit rate allowed, per Baseball Savant. Among pitchers who have faced at least 200 batters this season, the difference between Peterson's ERA and expected ERA is the 15th largest. Last year (2.90 ERA, 4.56 xERA), he owned the third-largest discrepancy. Yet on Wednesday, he lowered his ERA to 2.49. Mets starters have pitched at least seven innings five times. Peterson is responsible for three of those games. Good defense helps. Tyrone Taylor's outfield assist (and Torrens expertly applying a tag) preserved the shutout in the eighth inning. Peterson racked up 13 outs on the ground. Peterson allowed nine hard-hit balls. But there was only one extra-base hit: Luis Garcia's double with one out in the eighth. So when Wood was told of the Nationals' exit velocities, he refused to take much solace. Wood said Peterson pitched 'a great game,' and he 'didn't want to take that away from him.' Peterson used his four-seam fastball, sinker and slider around the same amount of time, near 30 percent. He also deployed his changeup and curveball. He worked unpredictably and unafraid, doubling up on sinkers or using a slider in the same spot consecutively. Peterson got ahead with first-pitch strikes to 22 of the 31 batters he faced. From there, he didn't make it any easier. Throughout the game, he kept the Nationals off balance. 'Just the feel for pitching,' Mendoza said when asked what worked so well for Peterson. 'That's what makes him who he is.' The Mets' rotation's ERA (2.91 heading into Wednesday) still ranks as MLB's best without Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas, their two big signings from the offseason. Montas' next rehab start is Friday in Triple A, while Manaea will pitch Sunday (location to be determined). Mendoza was noncommittal when asked if Montas, who is ahead of Manaea, would need another rehab outing after his next one. Left unsaid: With the way the Mets' rotation is rolling, what's the rush? Advertisement Yet for all the Mets' starting pitching success — Kodai Senga's dominance, Clay Holmes' value, etc. — it's Peterson who leads them in innings (79 2/3) and continues to pitch deep into games with the most consistency. Mendoza spent the eighth inning Wednesday grilling pitching coaches Jeremy Hefner and Desi Druschel about how much Peterson had left in the tank. A few players stared at Mendoza in the eighth inning, essentially forbidding Mendoza with their eyes from removing Peterson. 'I just told him,' Peterson said, 'let me finish this thing.' When Peterson took the mound for the final inning, the crowd cheered. After Peterson recorded the first out in the ninth inning, fans chanted, 'Pe-ter-son! Pe-ter-son!' 'Hearing the crowd when I came back out and hearing them get louder after every out was very special,' Peterson said. Then Peterson struck out Wood on three pitches. 'The way he attacked Wood there,' Mendoza said, 'I was like, 'The game is over here.'' Two pitches later, infielder Andres Chaparro grounded out to end the game. After celebrating with his teammates on the field, Peterson embraced Mendoza and told him, 'Thank you, skip.' The way Mendoza saw it, Peterson couldn't have deserved the opportunity more.
