Derrick Rose says fans shouldn’t be ‘too sorry’ for Tom Thibodeau after Knicks’ dismissal

Derrick Rose breaks silence on Tom Thibodeau

Derrick Rose spent nine seasons playing for Thibodeau on the Knicks, Chicago Bulls, and Minnesota Timberwolves. He and the head coach are friends off the court, and at an appearance for NASCAR, Rose explained that Thibodeau is doing very well after being fired.

Granted, he had roughly $33 million left on his contract, which will be paid out provided that he doesn’t take a job with a different team.

“I talked to Thibs after, and he’s good,” revealed Rose.

“He’s good. I think you can’t be mad when you’re walking away with 30 million dollars.

“So you can’t be too sorry for him, but he’s in good spirits. And yeah, that’s my guy. We locked into the end, but he’s good. Jalen’s still in New York. He’s going to be balling. So everybody wins, I feel like.”

The Knicks added free agents Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele, and will most likely run things back with the same roster next season, hoping to finally make the Finals after 27 years in a weak Eastern Conference.

Rose and Thibodeau share a close bond

If anyone is in a position to speak about how Thibodeau is dealing with his sudden unemployment, it would be Rose.

While Thibs wasn’t the first head coach that Rose had, he was certainly the most impactful. He was on the sidelines when Rose won MVP, and his refusal to rest the star may have contributed to his injuries, although there is no bad blood.

Thibodeau was there for Rose’s rise and fall, and he was the head coach when Rose scored a career-high 50 points in 2018 while playing for the Wolves.

In 2021-22, nine years after Rose’s last All-Star appearance, he came in third in Sixth Man of the Year voting and ninth in the MVP race. Naturally, he ended that season on Thib’s Knicks.

While Rose is enjoying retirement, Thibodeau is also, apparently, taking things easy for now.