Report: Knicks Owner James Dolan Spearheaded Tom Thibodeau Firing

According to Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports, New York Knicks owner James Dolan spearheaded the Tom Thibodeau firing. 

The Knicks fired Thibodeau despite reaching the conference finals this year for the first time since 2000. 

“What was clear was Thibodeau’s firing being spearheaded by Knicks owner James Dolan, sources told Yahoo Sports. Dolan and team president Leon Rose held exit meetings with key Knicks players and the complaints were clear,” Goodwill wrote. “Dolan, whom sources said was never a huge Thibodeau fan through the years, asked the questions in the meeting while Rose took a secondary role.”

Thibodeau, who has coached the Chicago Bulls and Minnesota Timberwolves, was hired by the Knicks in 2020. He went 226-174 in the regular season and 24-23 in the playoffs and won the 2021 Coach of the Year Award. 

The Knicks lost to the Indiana Pacers in this year’s conference finals in six games. Thibodeau is owed $30 million from New York. 

“Our organization is singularly focused on winning a championship for our fans,” Rose said in a statement. “This pursuit led us to the decision to inform Tom Thibodeau that we’ve decided to move in another direction. We can’t thank Tom enough for pouring his heart and soul into each and every day of being the New York Knicks head coach.

“Ultimately, we made the decision we feel is best for our organization moving forward. Tom will always be part of our Knicks family and we truly wish him nothing but the best in the future.”

According to Marc Stein of The Stein Line, the Knicks are interested in Jason Kidd and Ime Udoka. Kidd coaches the Dallas Mavericks, while Udoka coaches the Houston Rockets. 

The Mavericks and Rockets are not expected to let the Knicks speak with Kidd and Udoka, respectively.