Tom Thibodeau, New York Knicks. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
2: Retaining Tom Thibodeau
Following the Knicks’ disappointing 2021-22 season, it was rumored that the organization was going to move on from Tom Thibodeau. However, in a pre-taped interview that aired ahead of New York’s final regular season game on Apr. 10, Leon Rose voiced his support for the head coach.
With 19 games played thus far, it’s become even more painfully clear that Thibodeau isn’t the right coach for this young team. It’s a miracle that he finally decided to bench Fournier, which is something that he deserves credit for doing. But outside of that, the benefits of no longer having Thibodeau as head coach far outweighs the benefits of keeping him around for the entirety of the season.
Thibodeau has continued to keep Obi Toppin on a short leash, even though the forward has proven time and time again that he deserves more minutes. The illness that RJ Barrett recently dealt with doesn’t excuse how poorly he’s played to start the year, but on New York’s recent five-game road trip, Thibodeau opted to keep Barrett on the floor. The Knicks’ defense has been an issue all season, yet Thibs has made zero adjustments. Meanwhile, it physically hurts to watch New York on offense.
Thibodeau can’t be blamed for the moves that the Knicks failed to make over the summer, but the examples above are just a few instances of why he should no longer be the leader of this team.
New York was at risk of losing Johnnie Bryant over the summer to Utah and with the 37-year-old still in search of his first head coaching gig, he could —and should — remain with the Knicks. It’s time to pass the reins to Bryant.
Evan Fournier traded</a>. Instead, both Randle and Fournier entered the season in the starting lineup, but that’s since changed.</p>
<p>Fournier was removed from the starting lineup ahead of the Nov. 4 win over the Sixers. Since then, he’s played a total of 89 minutes and has racked up six straight DNPs. Fournier is averaging a career-low 6.9 points and is shooting a career-low 33.3% from the three-point line. Last season, he broke John Starks’ single-season record for made three-pointers, but his inconsistency on the offensive end was one of New York’s biggest problems before he was removed from the rotation. Now, the Knicks are tasked with finding a trade partner for Fournier, which will be easier said than done due to his contract and drop in production.</p>
<p>Similar to Fournier, Derrick Rose is averaging only 6.8 points and a near career-low of 13.2 minutes per game. Rose is another piece of New York’s logjam at guard that has held back younger players like Immanuel Quickley and Miles McBride.</p>
<p>Because the Knicks didn’t trade Fournier over the summer, the front office will have to work harder to locate a trade partner and agree on a deal that works for both sides. Dealing Rose will be easier than finding a trade partner for Fournier, but New York needs to trade both ahead of the deadline.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #007BC1" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/11/26/3-glaring-offseason-regrets-knicks-first-month-season/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Failing to find a better leader </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_136258" class="wp-caption alignnone">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-136258" src=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/11/26/3-glaring-offseason-regrets-knicks-first-month-season/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2134,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fdailyknicks.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2022%2F11%2F1443098337.jpeg" alt="New York Knicks, Tom Thibodeau" width="3200" height="2134" srcset="https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2022/11/1443098337.jpeg 3200w, https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2022/11/1443098337-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Tom Thibodeau, New York Knicks. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)</p>
</div>
<h3>2: Retaining Tom Thibodeau</h3>
<p>Following the Knicks’ disappointing 2021-22 season, it was rumored that the organization was going <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/11/26/3-glaring-offseason-regrets-knicks-first-month-season/2/"https://dailyknicks.com/2022/04/12/new-york-knicks-rumors-reports-suggest-front-office-executives-wanted-tom-thibodeau-fired/">to move on</a> from Tom Thibodeau. However, in a pre-taped interview that aired ahead of New York’s final regular season game on Apr. 10, Leon Rose voiced his support for the head coach.</p>
<p>With 19 games played thus far, it’s become even more painfully clear that Thibodeau isn’t the right coach for this young team. It’s a miracle that he finally decided to bench Fournier, which is something that he deserves credit for doing. But outside of that, the benefits of no longer having Thibodeau as head coach far outweighs the benefits of keeping him around for the entirety of the season.</p>
<p>Thibodeau has continued to keep Obi Toppin on a short leash, even though the forward has proven time and time again that he deserves more minutes. The illness that RJ Barrett recently dealt with doesn’t excuse how poorly he’s played to start the year, but on New York’s recent five-game road trip, Thibodeau opted to keep Barrett on the floor. The Knicks’ defense has been an issue all season, yet Thibs has made zero adjustments. Meanwhile, it physically hurts to watch New York on offense.</p>
<p>Thibodeau can’t be blamed for the moves that the Knicks failed to make over the summer, but the examples above are just a few instances of why he should no longer be the leader of this team.</p>
<p>New York was at risk of losing Johnnie Bryant over the summer <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/11/26/3-glaring-offseason-regrets-knicks-first-month-season/2/"https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10037853-jazz-rumors-knicks-assistant-johnnie-bryant-a-known-favorite-of-donovan-mitchell" target="_blank" rel="noopener">to Utah</a> and with the 37-year-old still in search of his first head coaching gig, he could —and should — remain with the Knicks. It’s time to pass the reins to Bryant.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #007BC1" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/11/26/3-glaring-offseason-regrets-knicks-first-month-season/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Something that will continue to haunt the Knicks </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_136259" class="wp-caption alignnone">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-136259" src=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/11/26/3-glaring-offseason-regrets-knicks-first-month-season/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fdailyknicks.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2022%2F11%2F1437775838.jpeg" alt="New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Donovan Mitchell" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2022/11/1437775838.jpeg 3200w, https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2022/11/1437775838-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) – New York Knicks</p>
</div>
<h3>1: Not trading for Donovan Mitchell</h3>
<p>After the Jazz fell to Jalen Brunson and the Mavericks in the playoffs last season, the Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert trade rumors were in full force. Utah traded Gobert to Minnesota on the first of July, and that’s when the Mitchell-Knicks saga began.</p>
<p>Over the next two months, New York’s front office went back and forth with Danny Ainge and Utah. Talks stalled over that period before the Knicks ultimately proceeded to extend <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/11/26/3-glaring-offseason-regrets-knicks-first-month-season/2/"https://dailyknicks.com/2022/09/05/donovan-mitchell-trade-knicks-rj-barrett/">RJ Barrett</a>, who was part of the trade talks. Shortly thereafter, the Jazz sent Mitchell to the Cavaliers in a shocking move that included a third unprotected first-round pick that New York was hesitant to part with.</p>
<p>Through 16 games in Cleveland, Mitchell is <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/11/26/3-glaring-offseason-regrets-knicks-first-month-season/2/"https://www.espn.com/nba/player/stats/_/id/3908809/donovan-mitchell" target="_blank" rel="noopener">averaging</a> a career-high 30.1 points and is shooting a career-high 50.5% from the floor and 42.3% from three. Even after recently losing five-straight games, the Cavaliers still sit at No. 3 in the Eastern Conference with a 12-7 record.</p>
<p>As for the Knicks, they sit towards the bottom half of the conference and will be lucky to be fighting for a play-in spot at the end of the season. That wouldn’t be something that New York would’ve had to worry about if the front office would’ve decided to go all in on Mitchell.</p>
<p>Now, the Knicks are left waiting for the next disgruntled star to become available via trade. If the right fit becomes available, the front office should be less hesitant this time around. Although Ainge’s demands were high, to be successful as a team in the NBA, having a star is a requirement.</p>
<div class="embed ">
<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="psARd3QpNY"><p><a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/11/26/3-glaring-offseason-regrets-knicks-first-month-season/2/"https://dailyknicks.com/2022/11/24/grading-key-knicks-players-start-2022-23-season/">Grading key Knicks players after start to 2022-23 season</a></p></blockquote>
<p><iframe class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" style="position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);" src=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/11/26/3-glaring-offseason-regrets-knicks-first-month-season/2/"https://dailyknicks.com/2022/11/24/grading-key-knicks-players-start-2022-23-season/embed/#?secret=psARd3QpNY" data-secret="psARd3QpNY" width="500" height="282" title="“Grading key Knicks players after start to 2022-23 season” — Daily Knicks" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p></div><!—pageview_candidate—>">
