AP Photo/John Raoux
The New York Knicks have been one of the worst teams in the league this season, but head coach Tom Thibodeau will not be fired.
During Tuesday's episode of NBA Countdown, Adrian Wojnarowski said that Thibodeau is safe in his role for the 2022-23 campaign.
"People have speculated about the Knicks and Tom Thibodeau, who was just Coach of the Year last year. I'm told he is safe in New York. He's got the support of ownership, Leon Rose the GM, and largely the locker room—the important players in the locker room. And one more thing, I'm told: He signed an original five-year deal to be coach of the Knicks. The fifth year was a team option, wasn't guaranteed. I'm told that the Knicks picked up that fifth year over the summer after he won Coach of the Year"
The New York Knicks had high expectations after finishing fourth in the Eastern Conference and making the playoffs.
It had key postseason experience with the return of Julius Randle and RJBarrett. The crowd that showed up at Madison Square Garden seemed like a reasonable goal for the second round.
It was so much for that.
New York was eliminated from contention for the play-in tournament. It will go another season since it has not won a playoff series in over a year.
When the Knicks made the playoffs in his first season at the helm, it seemed as if he was in charge of an impressive turn around. It was their first postseason appearance since the 2012-13 season, and there were enough young pieces in place to feel optimistic about the immediate future.
Even though he has shown flashes of his potential, New York was unable to take the next step.
He was an All-NBA second team selection last season, but this season he is only scoring 20.1 points per game on 41.1 percent shooting from the field and 30.8 percent shooting from deep, and he is averaging 24.1 points per game on 45.6% shooting from the field.
He will have the same coach on the sidelines despite this season&s struggles, as long as he can return to form in 2022-23.
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