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The Knicks front office and upper management have come under scrutiny ever since they fired Tom Thibodeau despite their Eastern Conference Finals run. And their latest actions have only fuelled the fire among fans that the front office does not know what they are doing. The Knicks reportedly contacted five teams within hours to request their permission and try to poach their head coaches away. All five teams reportedly strongly refused.
This move brought the front office under scrutiny even more, as the NBA world now felt that the Knicks decided to fire Tom Thibodeau without planning on who to hire as a replacement, thus showing incompetence on their part. To further rub salt on their wounds, arguably the most hated man in New York, Trae Young, went on social media after the Knicks failed to get permission to talk to Quinn Snyder as a potential replacement for Thibodeau.
"Hell nahh," wrote Trae Young as he reacted with a laughing emoji to Shams Charania's X post claiming the Knicks wanted to approach Snyder. The Knicks went 0-5 in their search after seeking permission to contact Jason Kidd, Ime Udoka, Chris Finch, Quinn Snyder, and Billy Donovan.
Hell nahh
— Trae Young (@TheTraeYoung) June 12, 2025
Young's enmity with the Knicks and their fanbase goes back to the 2021 Playoffs, where he embraced the "villain" role to send the Knicks packing in five games of the first round. Young averaged 29.2 points, 9.8 assists, and 2.8 rebounds in 5 games versus the Knicks in the 2021 Eastern Conference First Round. Seeing him enjoy the Knicks' misery will certainly poke Knicks fans even more.
Charles Barkley Calls Knicks Stupid For Firing Tom Thibodeau
The news of the Knicks reaching out to these five teams (Mavericks, Rockets, Timberwolves, Hawks, and Bulls) to seek their permission came out hours before the NBA Finals Game 3. Therefore, before Game 3 began, Charles Barkley addressed the Knicks' decision to part ways with Tom Thibodeau.
“The Knicks gotta be the stupidest damn people in the world,” Barkley said on NBA TV. “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’s going on there... You’ve gotta have a plan, man... I don’t know what the hell they’re going to do.”
The Knicks had 17 wins and 21 wins in two seasons before they hired Tom Thibodeau in July 2020, who converted this team into a consistent Playoff contender. They were above .500 in four of the five seasons he coached them. He won the NBA Coach of the Year award in his very first season with the Knicks.
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Reporter offers theory on why Kirk Cousins has not been traded
There have been multiple injuries to starting quarterbacks through the first two weeks of the NFL season, which has led to speculation that the Atlanta Falcons might finally trade Kirk Cousins. It does not sound like that is close to happening. Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reported on Thursday that no teams have reached out to the Falcons about trading for Cousins despite injuries to Cincinnati Bengals' Joe Burrow, San Francisco 49ers' Brock Purdy, Minnesota Vikings' J.J. McCarthy, New York Jets' Justin Fields and Washington Commanders' Jayden Daniels. Cousins was once considered the type of player who would generate buzz if a team's starting QB were to go down. So why hasn't it happened? According to Rapoport, the Falcons have no real incentive to trade Cousins. Cutting the 37-year-old never made sense, as Atlanta has to pay Cousins anyway, hence why the asking price has not dropped significantly. "He is a proven starting quarterback who happens to be the backup quarterback. If Michael Penix gets hurt, Cousins will step in there," Rapoport said. "That allows the Falcons to drive a very, very hard bargain. In other words, if you're going to trade for Kirk Cousins, if you're a team that says, 'Alright, we gotta have this guy,' you're gonna have to pay some of the salary and you're gonna have to give up a real draft pick. That is the luxury the Falcons have. "If they've got to keep him, they can just keep him because he's an excellent, excellent backup quarterback. Perhaps that is why we have not seen a deal yet, but every time there is a real, long-term quarterback injury, we're gonna have the same conversation this season." Kirk Cousins was benched for poor play in 2024 Cousins lost his job to Michael Penix Jr. midway through the 2024 season. The four-time Pro Bowl quarterback got off to a decent start in his first season with Atlanta, but then played poorly for a stretch. Cousins finished with 3,508 yards, 18 touchdown passes and a career-worst 16 interceptions. There were numerous trade rumors involving Cousins during the offseason, but nothing materialized. That is mainly because he is only in the second year of a four-year, $180M contract. The Falcons do not seem eager to eat much of that salary in a trade, unless a team were willing to make it worth their while with draft-pick compensation. A desperate team could still want Kirk Cousins The Bengals are bracing for a lengthy absence for Burrow, who could potentially miss the remainder of the season. The other quarterbacks who have gotten hurt are not expected to be sidelined for very long. It is possible that teams aren't desperate enough this early in the season to give up assets for Cousins. There also seems to be a belief among some that Cousins' skills have declined, which makes it tougher for the Falcons to ask for much in a potential deal.
Concerning report emerges about Capitals star Alexander Ovechkin's health
The Washington Capitals began their first day of training camp with an injury scare, as star left winger Alexander Ovechkin left practice early with a lower-body injury. Alexander Ovechkin addresses the media It wasn't immediately clear if the injury affected the same leg that Ovechkin broke last year, when a fractured fibula cost the Capitals captain 16 games. The injury was not severe enough to restrict Ovechkin from speaking to reporters following Thursday's practice. Per NHL.com's Tom Gulitti, Ovechkin sounded "unconcerned" about his lower-body injury, but he added that the Capitals captain might not skate on Friday when training camp resumes. Gulitti added that Washington head coach Spencer Carbery called the decision "precautionary" to take Ovechkin off the ice. Ovechkin, who turned 40 on Wednesday, enters the 2025 season as the NHL's all-time leading goal-scorer with 897 tallies. When asked if he is approaching this season as if it would be his last, Ovechkin said he didn't know. Ovechkin is also the NHL's all-time leader in regular-season power-play goals (326), game-winning goals (136) and shots on net (6,864). Depending on the severity of this injury, Capitals fans may have to wait to watch Ovechkin continue padding those totals and try to lead the Caps to their second Stanley Cup.
After announcing retirement, Clayton Kershaw's next stop is Cooperstown
The Los Angeles Dodgers are about to lose a franchise icon. Pitcher Clayton Kershaw announced on Thursday that he is retiring at the end of the season. Kershaw did not make his 2025 debut until May 17 but quickly showed that he still has something left in the tank. He has been a steady presence in a Dodgers team that has used 17 different starting pitchers this season, posting a 3.53 ERA and a 1.216 WHiP over 102 innings, striking out 71 batters with 30 walks. His 20 starts this season are second on the Dodgers, trailing only Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The 2025 season has been a fitting capstone on Kershaw's career. An 11-time All-Star, Kershaw was a three-time Cy Young award winner and took home the 2014 National League MVP. He took home the pitching Triple Crown in 2011, one of just 22 pitchers to accomplish that feat. He became the 20th player, and fourth left-hander, in major league history to strike out 3000 batters, reaching that plateau on July 3. For all of Kershaw's accomplishments, there was one that had eluded the Dodgers' ace — a World Series ring. He was able to get that monkey off of his back in 2020 as the Dodgers defeated the Tampa Bay Rays in six games. Kershaw was his dominant self during the series, allowing just three runs on seven hits and three walks over 11.2 innings, striking out 14 batters as the Dodgers won both of his starts. Kershaw has one more stop once he hangs up his cleats for good. Cooperstown will be calling once he is on the ballot, his dominance earning the highest honor in the game. It will be a well-deserved honor for a pitcher who was one of the best of his generation.
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