Sources: New York Knicks Expected to Keep Tom Thibodeau Beyond This Season

Sources told B/R that Tom Thibodeau will remain the Knicks' head coach beyond the 2020-21 season, despite weeks of speculation that his tenure with New York was about to end.

The Knicks are outside the play-in tournament after a surprising run to the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs last spring.

One team strategist said that the danger was overperforming.

Sources said that the Knicks front office was given permission to either remove or retain him. Sources said that Leon Rose has no plans to make a change on the Knicks bench. The governor's box is often visited by Thibodeau after each game.

The job became available in 2020. Despite the lengthy interview process that included 11 candidates, Thibodeau was still considered the favorite for the job. This was a foregone conclusion since New York named Rose as the Knicks president of basketball operations.

Few executives are given the chance to fire more than one head coach before the team starts focusing on the front-office leader. If Rose were to ever relieve Thibodeau of his responsibilities, New York's president would have to address the personnel change publicly, which has only happened twice since Rose was hired.

It's not like they took him. One NBA coaching figure said that Leon would have to answer to that.

New York brass values the ability and willingness to pose as the team's official spokesman.

The coaching figure said thatThibs will stand there before and after the game to take the bullets for you.

The five-year agreement was signed in July 2020. It is believed that New York has a financial commitment of around $5 million annually.

Two years ago, when the Knicks chose Tom Thibodeau, there was no whale of a signal-caller looking for his next opportunity. Kidd was considered the runner-up in the New York coaching search, but has found success in his first year on the Dallas sideline.

There is no evidence to suggest that Johnnie Bryant, New York's hand-picked associate head coach, would spark greater success than Thibodeau. Sources said that Kenny Payne, the former Kentucky assistant, may leave the Knicks staff to take the Louisville head-coaching job.

The league officials contacted by B/R suggested injury misfortune was the main cause of New York's struggles this season. The Knicks were projected to be a 40-plus win team, which would have netted New York a spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Two ankle surgeries have limited Rose to 26 games this season. Prior to the injury, Rose was the most important player on the team. The key lynchpin of the aggressive defensive scheme has appeared in only 25 games this season.

New York's roster construction has been pointed out as having flaws. The Knicks' first-round flameout against Atlanta has been categorized as reactionary to the team's 2021.

Evan Fournier and Kemba Walker were added to the team because New York personnel wanted more ball-handling creativity. His three-point shooting has fallen off a lot this season, from 41.1 percent to 31.7 percent.

He just signed a four-year, $117 million extension.

The head coach and the front-office lieutenants of Leon Rose were at odds before the February trade deadline.

The acquisition of Reddish was viewed by league executives as a notable value-add, but it was not used in the rotation before the third-year guard was lost for the season due to an AC joint injury.

Sources said that the New York front office tried to move veterans such as Alec Burks to free up playing time for younger Knicks prospects, but they failed to finish several deal structures that were on the table.

Sources told B/R that trade discussions with multiple teams ended in failure as New York pressed for more draft capital in return.

The Lakers and Raptors had a three-team structure, which would have sent Cam Reddish and Alec Burks to Los Angeles, Talen Horton-Tucker and Nerlens Noel to Toronto, and Goran Dragic to the Raptors.

A high-ranking Eastern Conference executive said that they are always trying to squeeze out an extra second-round pick.

New York will have a lot of turnover this summer. The majority of the Knicks' roster has been open to discussion since the 2021 draft. They are expected to target the point guard market in particular, with New York having a top wish list.

The head coach appears to be keeping an eye on it all.