Knicks finalizing five-year deal to make Tom Thibodeau next head coach

Thibodeau will become the 10th full-time head coach the Knicks have had this century. He'll replace interim coach Mike Miller, who was another candidate for the permanent job. 

Thibodeau, 62, has previously coached the Chicago Bulls and Minnesota Timberwolves. His Chicago teams were successful, reaching the playoffs in each of his five seasons there. However, his tenure in Minnesota was less impressive as Jimmy Butler requested a trade while Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins festered.

The former Bulls head coach's relationships in New York probably played a role in his hiring. He's represented by CAA, where Knicks president Leon Rose used to run basketball operations, and he also was a Knicks assistant from 1996 to 2003. 

New York's coaching search was lengthy. The organization interviewed Kenny Atkinson, Mike Woodson, Kidd, Miller and Mike Brown on top of Thibodeau. They also interviewed candidates with no head coaching experience, including Ime Udoka, Chris Fleming, Pat Delaney, Jamahl Mosley and Will Hardy.

The Knicks will be hoping Thibodeau can lead the organization back to the playoffs and be an inspiration for young players such as R.J. Barrett and Frank Ntilikina. The Knicks missed the playoffs for the seventh straight season after going 21-45 during the 2019-20 campaign.