Who will take over Thibodeau? Downs & Brunson University coach is on the list Malone & Van Gundy is worth noting

Kenny Atkinson and Mark Dignot will definitely feel a little uneasy on Wednesday morning. News of Tom Thibodeau's sack in the New York Knicks will raise many questions about the future of the Knicks. But this also highlights the instability of the NBA coaching industry.

Tibodeau, NBA Coach of the Year 2021, became the latest top coach to be fired within four years of award-winning. In fact, of the seven winners between the 2016-17 season and 2022-23 seasons, Thibodeau still had the longest, and he received four seasons of coaching before being fired. Similarly, Mike Budenholzer was elected Coach of the Year when coaching the Milwaukee Bucks in 2019 (and led the team to win the championship in 2021), and was fired four years later. The

Coach of the Year's curse remains. Thibodeau, Budenholzer, Mike D'Anthony, Nick Nass, Monty Williams and Mike Brown failed to coach their teams for more than four seasons after winning the award. Some, like Brown and Williams, were even fired before the third season began.

When Thibodeau took over a team with a record of 21 wins and 45 losses in the 2019-2020 season, if an extremely optimistic Knicks fan (actually many such fans) imagines that the team can only be two games away from the NBA Finals in less than five years, he/she will be ridiculed. But Thibodeau helped the team do that. With the support of signings from basketball operations president Leon Ross, Thibodeau led the Knicks to 50 wins in two consecutive seasons, the team's first feat since the 1994-95 season.

Those who believe that Thibodeau should have been treated better cannot be denied. As we all know, Thibodeau's reliance on structure and discipline is one of the reasons why the Knicks can quickly enter the championship ranks. However, the accelerated timetable will create an embarrassing situation where expectations are raised. This season's preseason, bookmakers set the Knicks' regular season wins to 53.5 games, while the Knicks "just" won 51 games in the East. It's hard to understand why the Knicks are seen as a disappointing team this season, especially considering that they've reached the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2000.

But star new player Carl Anthony Towns has never been fully integrated with OG Anunobi (the latter signed the largest contract in the history of the Knicks), as well as Villanova teammates Jaylen Brunson, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart. Thibodeau lets this lineup play for a very long time, but most of the time it fails to get the results he wants.

This season, the five-man played together for 940 minutes, which is at least twice as long as any other lineup in the East, but they never really had a chemistry. After a hot start, the Knicks' offensive firepower gradually weakened and often fell into Brunson's solo dribble performances. On the defensive end, the Knicks usually lack sufficient resistance. Despite its huge playing time, the starting lineup has only surpassed 51% of the league's lineup this season, according to Cleaning the Glass tracking data.

From this perspective, the whole is not greater than the sum of the parts. It is understandable that Thibodeau was fired. Thibodeau didn't give up his poorly performed starting lineup until the third game of the Eastern Conference Finals, and waited too long to expand his substitute to more than two players.

It is worth noting that the top seven players in the Knicks playoffs account for 93% of the team's total time, which is much higher than the division champions Thunder (82%) and Pacers (80%).

Considering Bridges’ complaints about playing too much time and Towns’ lack of influence on the defensive end, I would be surprised if we didn’t hear more about some of the college coaches who have led some of these players to the championship.

Where will the Knicks go next? Here are four candidates worth watching:

John Calipari

There is a man who knows how to win with Towns. This guy has also been selected as the NCAA Coach of the Year and happens to know what it feels like to be an NBA coach in the New York Metropolitan Area. John Calipari, come up!

It is also true that over the years, no coach has been closer to the University of Arkansas coach than in his relationship with Leon Rose and Knicks management second-ranked William Wesley. And the coach has coached Towns at the University of Kentucky and the Dominican national team. Calipari served as the head coach of the New Jersey Nets for two and a half seasons, leading the team into a playoff (but swept) in the 1997-98 season. When Ross got the Knicks’ management job, Calipari praised Ross and his future in New York. (He turned out to be right, and Ross did turn the situation around.)

Calipari reportedly had four years left on his five-year contract with the University of Arkansas, and the University of Arkansas gave him a lower annual salary than he did when he was at Kentucky. If the Knicks send out an invitation and offer a competitive salary, I'm sure he'll answer the phone. As for college coaches coaching NBA teams, their past achievements are not very good. Among the 13 coaches who moved from college basketball to the NBA, no one was able to lead the team to the NBA Finals—even though both Billy Donovan and Brad Stevens had success, they also failed to do so.

Hiring Calipari will show the Knicks believe in Towns' long-term development potential in New York, and he will not be the only college legend coach who is likely to compete and is highly regarded.

【Attached】College-to-NBA head coaches

Among the 13 head coaches who moved directly from the college league to the NBA, only two - Billy Donovan and Brad Stevens - have coached on their professional teams for more than four seasons. No one has led their professional team to win championships, and no one has even led the team to the NBA Finals.

John Bellein

Team: Cleveland Cavaliers

Hiring Year: 2019 coaching seasons: 1

Record: 14 wins and 40 losses

Win rate: 25.9%

Fred Hoyberg

Team: Chicago Bulls

Hiring Year: 2015 coaching seasons: 4

Record: 115 wins, 155 losses, win rate: 42.6%

Billy Donovan

Team: Oklahoma City Thunders, 2015, hire year: 2015 coaching seasons: 5

Record: 243 wins, 157

Win rate: 60.8%

Brad Stevens

Team: Boston Celtics

Hot years: 2013

coaching seasons: 8

Record: 354 wins, 282 losses

Win rate: 55.7%

Mike Montgomery

Second: Golden State Warriors

Hot years: 2004

Coaching seasons: 2

Record: 68 wins, 96 losses

Win rate: 41.5%

Regge -Toyce: Sacramento Kings

Employment Year: 2007

coaching seasons: 2

Record: 44 wins and 62 losses

Win rate: 41.5%

Leonard Hamilton

Team: Washington Wizards

Employment Year: 2000

coaching seasons: 1

Record: 19 wins and 63 losses

Win rate: 23.2%

Long Kruger

Team: Atlanta Hawks

Hiring Year: 2000

coaching seasons: 3

Record: 69 wins, 122 losses

Win rate: 36.1%

Tim Floyd

Team: Chicago Bulls

Hiring Year: 1998

coaching match Season number: 4

Record: 49 wins, 190 losses

Win rate: 20.5%

Rick Pitino

Feet: Boston Celtics

Employment year: 1997

Coaching season number: 4

Record: 102 wins, 146 losses

Win rate: 41.1%

John Calipari

Team: New Jersey Nets

Employment Year: 1996 coaching seasons: 3

Record: 72 wins, 112 losses

Win rate: 39.1%

PJ-Calesimo

Team: Portland Trail Blazers

Employment Year: 1994 coaching seasons: 3

Record: 137 wins, 109 losses

Win rate: 5 5.7%

Jerry Tacanian

Team: San Antonio Spurs

Employment Year: 1992 Coaching Seasons: 1

Record: 9 wins, 11 losses

Win rate: 45.0%

Jay Wright

Calipari worked with an active Knicks player, only two games away from the NCAA championship. But Wright won the NCAA championship with his disciples who later became Knicks players many times. Wright left Villanova in 2022 after he led the Wildcats to great success, winning the 2016 and 2018 NCAA Championships with the help of Brunson, Hart and Bridges.

Wright, 63, is considered an older age among NBA coaches, but he is not an exception. Heck, Rick Carlisle is two years older than Wright and he is coaching one of the youngest teams in the league in the NBA Finals. Unlike Calipari, Wright has never coached an NBA team, and it is unclear whether he is interested in a professional coaching position. However, he has coached Brunson, Bridges and Hart – who will all stay with the Knicks next season – and lead them to success, so it’s not hard to imagine he might consider the job.

However, as Rick Pitino found out with the Celtics, coaching the former college players is not as easy as it seems [1].

[Translation Note] While coaching the Celtics, Pitino's disciples Antoine Walker and Ron Mercer also played for the Celtics.

Michael Malone

When I watched ESPN's broadcast during the playoffs, I felt that Malone was acting naturally in the commentary seat. But I don't think he wants to stay there for too long.

The famous coach is the son of former Knicks senior assistant coach Brandon Malone, and his resume also has an achievement that Thibodeau and others on the roster do not have: the head coach of the NBA championship team.

Although Malone lost his locker room support with the Denver Nuggets, which ultimately led to him losing his job, I would be shocked if he didn’t coach somewhere next season. Considering Thibodeau was fired a few days after losing Game 6 in the Eastern Conference Finals, it seems that the Knicks already have a choice in their minds. Since Ma Long is free now, he may be the target candidate. Another thing that is good for Malone is that he is a client of the CAA brokerage firm, which may indicate some favorable factors, given that the Knicks, led by Ross, are closely connected with the brokerage firm [2].

[Translation Note] Rose has worked as an agent at CAA, while Knicks players Towns, Anunobi, Brunson and Hart are currently clients of CAA.

Jeff Van Gundy

I don't know if Van Gundy will consider reuniting with Knicks boss James Dolan and the Knicks. But Van Gundy was the last coach to lead the Knicks to the NBA Finals, and few in the league can earn so much respect as he does.

As Tyron Lou's chief assistant coach this season, Van Gundy helped the Los Angeles Clippers become the top three defensive team in the league, even though Kawhi Leonard missed half a season. Van Gundy knows what it takes to win in New York and still has a deep understanding of the modern NBA. Although the Clippers have underperformed in the final stage of the season, Van Gundy is likely to be revitalized by the Knicks’ young roster. Compared to the Clippers' roster, it is obvious that the Knicks players are younger.

Author: Tom Haberstroh

Translator: GWayNe