Tom Thibodeau is entering a new chapter in his career with the New York Knicks, trying to get this team to be relevant again. The Knicks have a couple of good young players but Thibs reportedly wants to add more firepower to the team and see if they can compete in a very hard Eastern Conference. The Knicks have been the worst team in the league for the last couple of years and they want to turn things around.
One would have imagined they were going to take some time to develop their players and see how things worked for them, but now Thibs is looking to land stars to get immediate results. He is pushing for win-now moves, reports Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.
“From what we’ve gathered from two sources who’ve been in contact with the Knicks about roster decisions, Tom Thibodeau is pushing win-now moves. That’s predictable. It’s how the coach is wired. Thibodeau is also a former team president who acknowledged having a say in New York’s roster construction.”
The last time he did this, things weren’t good for the Minnesota Timberwolves since Jimmy Butler clashed with Karl-Anthony Towns. These are risky moves and Thibodeau is curiously willing to make them even though it didn’t work in Minnesota. The Knicks have been linked with a move for Russell Westbrook, but plenty of people are convinced that’s not going to help the Knicks reach the level they want to reach.
The Knicks can pursue a star next year in one of the most stacked free agencies of all time. They have big opportunities with players like Kawhi Leonard, Giannis Antetokounmpo and if they dream, LeBron James. Thibs pushing for these moves now would be counterproductive, but this is the Knicks, they do whatever they want even if everybody warns them about the risk of those moves.
