Just about every NBA media member has shared their opinion on the New York Knicks decision to part ways with head coach Tom Thibodeau after reaching the Eastern Conference Finals. But it is particularly how the Knicks have gone about moving on from Thibodeau that Charles Barkley has a problem with.
Most assumed that the Knicks would have a candidate to replace Thibodeau with in mind upon making the difficult decision to move on from him. But thus far, it has been far harder for the Knicks to get head coaching candidates through the door.
Notably, the Knicks have been rejected by four different teams upon requesting interviews with four different head coaches around the NBA. This list includes requests to interview the Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch, Houston Rockets’ coach Ime Udoka, Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd, and Atlanta Hawks coach Quin Snyder.
Now, the Knicks coaching search is incredibly unclear. And Charles Barkley, who spoke about the matter on the NBA TV pregame coverage ahead of Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday night, believes that the Knicks should have had a plan in place once they decided that Thibodeau wouldn’t be in their long-term plans.
“The Knicks gotta be the stupidest damn people in the world,” said Barkley. “You don’t fire no good coach like that and don’t have a plan. I mean, Thibs did a hell of a job. Obviously, something is going on there. But, you don’t have a plan? And now, 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.”
It’s hard to argue with anything Barkley said here. Maybe Thibodeau wasn’t the coach that was going to lead them to their first NBA Finals in 26 years. But without a clear plan in place, it certainly makes more sense for the Knicks to try and build on what they accomplished this season rather than blowing things up.
Maybe everything will end up working out for the Knicks. But clearly, regardless of who the Knicks end up hiring, they will have some pretty big shoes to fill in the eyes of Charles Barkley.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.