Tom Thibodeau Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Atlantic Notes: Nets, Noel, Jordan, Raptors

March 7th, 2022 at 10:11pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Nets would have to go on a major winning streak to escape the play-in tournament. Winding up in that extra round could have major offseason consequences, Brian Lewis of the New York Post writes. Coach Steve Nash could find his job in jeopardy, despite all the obstacles he’s been forced to deal with this season. The roster could be overhauled, as Lewis notes only six players have guaranteed contracts for next season and two others can opt out of their deals.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

Knicks center Nerlens Noel did not play on Sunday due to plantar fasciitis and he could be out for an extended period, according to The New York Post’s Marc Berman. Coach Tom Thibodeau said Noel would not play until he recovered from the foot ailment and got some regular practice time. Noel has played in just 25 games due to an assortment of knee, hamstring and foot injuries. He signed a three-year, $27.7MM contract last summer with a team option for the final year.
DeAndre Jordan said his prior relationships with coach Doc Rivers and starters James Harden and Tobias Harris, plus the need for a backup center, made the Sixers an easy choice after he cleared waivers, Tim Bontemps of ESPN tweets. Jordan heaped praise on his former Clippers coach, Gina Mizell of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. “He’s the best coach I’ve ever had, he’s more than a coach to me … when a new player comes to a team, it’s always everybody trying to get them to feel acclimated, but with Doc, he’s gonna curse me out like I’ve been here all season,” said Jordan, who played 10 minutes in his Sixers debut on Monday.
The Raptors’ loss to the Cavaliers on Sunday makes it seem almost inevitable that Toronto will wind up in the play-in tournament, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Canada writes. The defeat dropped Toronto three games behind Cleveland, which sits in sixth place in the East and also holds a tiebreaker advantage over the Raptors.

New York Notes: Irving, Burks, Quickley, Barrett, Durant

March 3rd, 2022 at 5:29pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Nets guard Kyrie Irving has picked a new agent and it’s someone close to him. He’s hired Shetellia Riley Irving, which would apparently make her the only Black woman representing a current player, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. She’s Kyrie’s stepmother and a VP of ad sales at media company BET, Ian Begley of SNY TV tweets.

Irving’s contract includes a player option worth at least $36.5MM for the 2022/23 season. He’ll become an unrestricted free agent this summer if he opts out.

We have more from the New York teams:

With Kemba Walker shut down for the season and Derrick Rose recovering from a minor procedure on his ankle, the Knicks are thin at the point. They’re currently going with Alec Burks as the starter and Immanuel Quickley on the second unit. Until Rose is ready, coach Tom Thibodeau said he doesn’t anticipate a change, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. “That’s the best we have, so that’s what we’re doing, and they’re capable,’’ he said.
Following his 46-point eruption against Miami last week, Jimmy Butler said that wing RJ Barrett was going to be “the face of the Knicks.” The New York Post’s Ian O’Connor writes that Barrett must not allow the state of the franchise to hold him back from being an All-Star player. O’Connor notes that the franchise hasn’t drafted, developed and held onto a star player since Patrick Ewing.
There won’t a minutes restriction on Kevin Durant in his return to action Thursday, Nick Friedell of ESPN tweets. However, Durant and acting coach Jacque Vaughn — who is filling for Steve Nash (health and safety protocols) — will be in constant communication during the game to monitor how he’s feeling.

Tom Thibodeau Isn’t Worried About Job Security

February 24th, 2022 at 8:57am CST by Arthur Hill

Amid speculation that Tom Thibodeau’s job may be in jeopardy as the result of a disappointing Knicks season, the coach told reporters Wednesday that his relationship with the front office is fine, writes Greg Joyce of The New York Post.

A report last week stated that executive vice president William Wesley has been blaming Thibodeau’s coaching decisions for recent losses, particularly the defeat against the Nets in the final game before the All-Star break when New York squandered a 28-point lead. But Thibodeau said he’s not feeling any heat from management and he doesn’t play attention to media rumors.

“I talk to Wes all the time,” he said. “I don’t respond to rumors or any of that stuff. I know the drill here. I’ve been here before, so I don’t worry about any of that stuff.”

After grabbing the fourth seed last season, the Knicks stumbled into this year’s All-Star break at 25-34, 12th in the Eastern Conference and three and a half games out of the final spot in the play-in tournament. Since his hiring, management has talked about a close working relationship with Thibodeau, but there have been signs this year that it may be fracturing. The latest involves Cam Reddish, who Thibodeau has kept out of the rotation after the team sent a first-round draft pick to Atlanta to acquire him last month.

Thibodeau, who has three more years remaining on his five-year contract, emphasized that his relationship with the front office has remained solid despite the losing.

“I talk to (team president Leon Rose) every day, talk to Wes every day,” Thibodeau said. “So that doesn’t change.”

Joyce also noted that Thibodeau talked last week about making lineup changes to try to spark a team that is 3-13 over its last 16 games. However, he didn’t mention any potential changes on Wednesday, other acknowledging the decision to shut down Kemba Walker for the rest of the season.

Atlantic Notes: Embiid, Sixers, Knicks, Durant, Simmons

February 22nd, 2022 at 10:56pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Five-time Sixers All-Star center Joel Embiid admitted that he considered quitting basketball entirely during his rookie year, per Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Embiid was drafted by the Sixers in 2014 with the third pick out of Kansas, but didn’t suit up for Philadelphia until the 2016/17 season. Surgeries for a navicular bone in his right foot delayed Embiid’s NBA debut for two years while he grieved the death of a family member off the court.

“You look back at my first year after the surgery,” Embiid said. “Obviously, I lost my brother at that time, too. Going back to Cameroon, I really wanted to stop playing basketball and really retire because at that point you just had surgery, and everybody is talking about ‘You’re not going to make it’ or ‘You’re never going to play in the league,’ and, obviously, the loss of my brother was big. I wanted to give up. I almost did. It was hard.”

The 28-year-old has since become one of the most dominant centers in the NBA, and is currently building a convincing MVP case with a terrific and mostly healthy season thus far. He is averaging 29.6 PPG, 11.2 RPG and 4.5 APG through 46 games this season. Embiid boasts shooting splits of .495/.369/.813.

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

While the identities of four Sixers starters are fairly clear heading into the home stretch of the 2021/22 NBA season, the team has several options for the fifth starting role, per Kyle Neubeck of the Philly Voice. With James Harden, Tyrese Maxey, Tobias Harris and Embiid entrenched in the club’s starting lineup. Neubeck considers whether they’d be best complemented by the defensive attributes of Matisse Thybulle, the corner three-point shooting of Danny Green or Furkan Korkmaz, or the size advantage of Georges Niang.
With a 25-34 record, the Knicks face an uphill battle to even make the play-in tournament this season. Fred Katz of The Athletic wonders at what point second-year New York head coach Tom Thibodeau, whose job may be in jeopardy this summer, may opt to prioritize developing the team’s youth over less-than-meaningful victories. Katz also theorizes about the potential markets awaiting 2022 unrestricted free agent center Mitchell Robinson, and forward Cam Reddish, whom the Knicks could either opt to extend this summer or allow to reach restricted free agency next year.
Nets team president Sean Marks expects stars Kevin Durant and Ben Simmons to join the team on the hardwood fairly soon, writes Brian Lewis of the New York Post. “Depending when they go, we’ve got to see how they respond to days like [Tuesday], and we’ll go forward with this,” Marks said. “It’s probably going to be tough, to be honest, to be playing in the next three or four days. But we’ll see how it all plays out.”

Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Thibodeau, M. Robinson, Raptors

February 22nd, 2022 at 9:03am CST by Luke Adams

Despite being one of the NBA’s marquee franchises, the Celtics haven’t hosted the All-Star Game since Bill Russell played for the team, back in 1964. According to Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe, the team may be interested in changing that. Sources tell Washburn that the Celtics’ ownership group is taking steps to submit an application to host the event.

As Washburn writes, the Celtics don’t own the TD Garden outright, which is a logistical hurdle that must be overcome, and the locales for the next two All-Star Games – Utah in 2023 and Indiana in 2024 – have already been set. But the fact that Boston is taking steps toward applying is noteworthy, according to Washburn, who says the ownership group’s interest level in hosting the game has long been “tepid” until now.

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

Marc Berman of The New York Post argues that Tom Thibodeau shouldn’t be the fall guy for a disappointing Knicks season, observing that the front office made multiple roster moves Thibodeau wasn’t gung-ho about, including adding Kemba Walker and letting Reggie Bullock walk in free agency. Thibodeau also reportedly wasn’t exactly pushing for last month’s Cam Reddish trade. “They haven’t collaborated with him like they did last year,” a coaching source tells Berman.
Sean Deveney of Heavy.com spoke to one rival general manager who thinks Mitchell Robinson‘s next contract will be in the range of the full mid-level exception, projecting a three-year, $33MM deal. The Knicks center, who is currently extension-eligible, will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Eric Koreen of The Athletic looks at some of the questions facing the Raptors for the rest of the 2021/22 season, including how important Precious Achiuwa and Dalano Banton are to the franchise, both in the present and future. As Koreen notes, Achiuwa and Banton have played well enough to warrant regular roles, but they don’t contribute much in the half-court offense, which has been Toronto’s biggest Achilles heel.
Within the same story, Koreen suggests the most likely outcome for the Raptors‘ open 15-man roster spot is that two-way player Justin Champagnie is promoted to fill it.

William Wesley Blaming Tom Thibodeau For Knicks’ Struggles

February 17th, 2022 at 4:02pm CST by Rory Maher

As we relayed this morning, the Knicks suffered a crushing 111-106 loss to Brooklyn on Wednesday, in which New York blew a 28-point lead, intensifying scrutiny on head coach Tom Thibodeau. The Knicks are just 3-13 over their last 16 games and currently hold a 25-34 record, 12th in the East.

“A byproduct of losing is everyone wants to place blame. And I understand that,” Thibodeau said after the game. “We all have jobs to do. (The season) has not gone as well as it has. It didn’t go great last year until the end, right? Lock into what we have to do. Don’t get caught up in getting distracted. And focus on how we can do better. That’s where I want the focus to lie.”

Sources tell Ian Begley of SNY.tv that, in conversations with owner James Dolan, executive vice president William Wesley has been blaming Thibodeau’s coaching as a significant factor in the team’s struggles this season.

Thibodeau, the reigning Coach of the Year, was hand-picked by Wesley and president Leon Rose, and the three men have known each other for years, Begley writes. However, something is clearly amiss between the coaching staff and the front office.

Thibodeau was angry that the Knicks didn’t make trades ahead of the deadline last week and believed that a roster upgrade would have been beneficial, sources tell Begley. Thibodeau has been consulted with for personnel moves, and although his opinion is considered, New York’s front office has made several roster moves that didn’t align with Thibodeau’s thinking, per Begley.

In a separate article for SNY.tv, Begley states that he would be surprised if Thibodeau was fired before the end of the season — but confidence in the coach has clearly diminished within the organization.

Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News contends that the onus is on Rose to speak up with the embattled coach twisting in the wind. Sources confirmed Begley’s reporting to Bondy, that Wesley has Dolan’s ear and has been blaming Thibodeau for the team’s struggles. Wesley is also unhappy with Thibodeau’s reticence to play younger players.

The front office forced Thibodeau to add two assistant coaches — Johnnie Bryant and Kenny Payne — onto the staff as a condition of his hiring in 2020, sources tell Bondy. Should Thibodeau be fired, Bondy believes either of those coaches could named the next head coach.

Rose hasn’t spoken to the media since September, before the season started, and prior to that it had been more than a year since he’d spoken publicly, Bondy writes. He believes Rose needs to address the situation and back Thibodeau — or not — because the silence is leading to a lack of clarity on the team’s direction.

Knicks Notes: Thibodeau, Rose, Barrett, Noel, Samanic

February 17th, 2022 at 8:28am CST by Luke Adams

In their last game before the All-Star break, the Knicks had one of their worst losses of the season, letting a 28-point lead slip away against a Brooklyn team that was playing without Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Ben Simmons.

Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News contends that the ugly loss will only intensify the scrutiny on head coach Tom Thibodeau, who mismanaged his timeouts earlier in the week against Oklahoma City and faced criticism for keeping RJ Barrett on the court in the final moments of an out-of-reach game last Tuesday (Barrett injured his ankle with less than a minute left and the Knicks down by 15).

While Bondy says “the temperature on the coach’s seat only got hotter” on Wednesday, forward Julius Randle dismissed the idea that the players are tuning out Thibodeau’s message.

“Coach is amazing. I’m riding with Coach every day,” Randle told reporters after the game (video link via Ian Begley of SNY.tv). “He challenges us and prepares us very well every day. His message is still ringing clear in the locker room. We’ve just got to execute.”

Here’s more on the Knicks:

There’s optimism that point guard Derrick Rose will be able to return to action for the Knicks immediately after the All-Star break next week, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Rose has been unavailable since December 16 due to an ankle injury, but Wojnarowski says it looks like the former MVP should play next Friday vs. Miami, barring any setbacks.
Thibodeau expressed confidence on Wednesday that Barrett will return right after the All-Star break too, telling reporters that the forward was “pretty close” to being ready but that the team wanted to give him an extra week to get back to 100%, per Steve Popper of Newsday.
The prognosis wasn’t as positive for Nerlens Noel, who has been bothered this season by knee soreness and has missed the team’s last five games. Asked if Noel may ultimately require surgery, Thibodeau didn’t rule out the possibility, as Popper relays. “Yeah, it’s ongoing, so they’re checking that,” Thibodeau said. “Hopefully it responds better as we go.”
Thibodeau is viewing the All-Star break as a “chance to reboot” for the Knicks, according to Mike Vaccaro of The New York Post. “Everything is on the table now. Everything has to be merit-based. You earn what you get,” the head coach said. “You look at everything. How are we going to manage this. If a guy is playing good, he plays. If the team is functioning well he should play. The team has to come first for everyone.”
The Knicks’ signing of Luka Samanic to a two-way contract hasn’t worked out, as the big man’s season has been marred by a left heel injury, Marc Berman writes for The New York Post. With Samanic still sidelined, it’s unclear if the team will consider making a change to that two-way slot for the rest of the season, says Berman.

Knicks Notes: Toppin, Quickley, Thibs, Barrett, Randle

February 15th, 2022 at 5:34pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Talented second-year Knicks players Obi Toppin and Immanuel Quickley are striving to grow through their limited minutes allocations, writes Greg Joyce of the New York Post.

“It’s continual, doesn’t end,” coach Tom Thibodeau said of the young Knicks’ development. “You look at the season in totality, so at the end of the year, that’s when you make a judgment on how the season went… They’re making progress, [but] there’s still a long way to go.”

In 15.1 MPG, Toppin is averaging 7.3 PPG and 3.6 RPG on .510/.233/.744 shooting splits. Across 21.3 MPG, Quickley is averaging 9.2 PPG, 3.0 APG and 2.2 RPG.

There’s more out of the Mecca:

Quickley is grappling with a shooting slump that could be impacting his rotation minutes. Steve Popper of Newsday notes that Quickley averaged 38.9% on 4.7 three-point attempts per game as a rookie. This season, his shooting has slipped to 32.2% on 4.8 triples a night. “He’s a diligent worker,” Tom Thibodeau observed. “He’s in morning, noon and night shooting. Just got to stay with it, keep continuing to groove your shot, it’ll come back around. It’s part of it.”
After Knicks wing RJ Barrett suffered an ankle sprain during the end of a 132-115 blowout loss to the Nuggets last week, head coach Tom Thibodeau‘s decision to leave him on the court late is being questioned, notes Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. “You don’t work backwards,” Thibodeau said. “There’s different points. You look at the score and the time. And if you make a run, then you take a shot at it. So that’s what we did.”
As Knicks power forward Julius Randle improves his on-court performance for New York, he is also helping build up his trade value, per Ian O’Connor of the New York Post. The 25-33 Knicks may see their play-in chances fade away this year, but at least the 27-year-old Randle, who averaged 29.2 PPG, 12.8 RPG and 6.2 APG during the club’s recent 1-4 road trip, is reminding prospective trade partners of his abilities as a player.

Knicks Notes: Robinson, Trade Deadline, Quickley, Randle

February 8th, 2022 at 8:46pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Knicks center Mitchell Robinson is uncertain of his long-term future in New York, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post. Robinson will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.

“Whatever happens, happens,” Robinson said of his future with the Knicks. “It’s still in the season. You’re not worried about the offseason or the break.”

Berman notes that the Pistons, Pelicans and Mavericks have all previously been mentioned as being potential suitors for the 23-year-old defensive stalwart during the 2022 offseason.

“He’s very gifted,” head coach Tom Thibodeau said. “I think he’s learned a lot over the last couple of years. I think he knows his opponents a lot better and [he is] a lot stronger than he was three years ago, when he came into the league.”

There’s more out of the City That Never Sleeps:

The struggling Knicks have plenty of roster decisions to make ahead of this Thursday’s NBA trade deadline. Fred Katz of The Athletic considers which New York players are the best bets to be traded, identifying veteran guards Kemba Walker, Evan Fournier and Alec Burks as this week’s most likely trade candidates. Katz pegs New York native Walker, in the first season of a two-year, $18MM contract he signed in free agency with the Knicks last summer, as the most probable candidate to be shipped out.
Young Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley has seen his scoring take a dive during his second season, writes Steve Popper of Newsday. Entering tonight’s game, Quickley, who has slid behind Walker and Quentin Grimes in the club’s guard rotation, has connected on just 28.6% from the floor and 28.8% from long range across his last 13 games. “I think when he gets a couple easy shots, then I think he can get into rhythm,” coach Tom Thibodeau said optimistically. “We believe in him. We believe in his shot. He’s got a great shot. Just take the right ones, take the open ones, and if you’re guarded well — you’re seeing more blitzes. You’re getting a lot of attention. Just get off the ball. Don’t fight the pressure.”
The Knicks have gotten off to an 0-2 start to their current road trip as they continue to search for a cure to what ails them ahead of the encroaching trade deadline. The team has also lost eight of its last ten games overall. Embattled power forward Julius Randle appeared to chalk up the club’s issues on the jaunt to chemistry problems, as Marc Berman of the New York Post details. “I just feel like sometimes we have to be more aware of what’s going on and execute on both ends of the floor,” he said. “We gotta be more aware. A couple possessions in a row that aren’t good possessions, we just gotta be more aware and tighten things up on both ends.” Following an All-NBA 2020/21 season, Randle production and value as a primary scoring threat have fallen off during a mediocre ’21/22 campaign.

Knicks Rumors: McCollum, Robinson, Reddish, Randle

February 7th, 2022 at 10:48am CST by Luke Adams

Two rival teams say the Knicks are emerging as a legitimate suitor for Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum, Marc Stein reports in his latest article for Substack. Up until this point, the Pelicans had been the team most frequently linked to McCollum, but Stein suggests New York is a real possibility for the Blazers veteran.

It’s an intriguing idea, and one that appears more viable after seeing the deal Portland made with the Clippers on Friday. The Blazers were seemingly motivated to move off Norman Powell‘s long-term money in that trade, so it’s not out of the question that the team could take a similar approach with McCollum, who is owed $33.3MM next season and $35.8MM in 2023/24.

Many of the Knicks’ top trade candidates, including Alec Burks, Kemba Walker, and Nerlens Noel, are only owed guaranteed money through ’22/23, and New York has a ton of extra draft picks – including Dallas’ top-10 protected 2023 first-rounder – that could grease the wheels of a potential deal.

Here’s more on the Knicks:

According to Ian Begley of SNY.tv, the Pistons are among the teams that have shown interest in Knicks center Mitchell Robinson. However, Begley says it’s unclear whether Detroit will try to trade for Robinson this week or if the team would only consider him in free agency. Robinson, who is extension-eligible, will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
As Cam Reddish continues to spend most of his time on the bench for the Knicks, one NBA source who has been in contact with the team’s brass tells Marc Berman of The New York Post that head coach Tom Thibodeau wasn’t exactly pushing the front office to trade for Reddish last month. “From my understanding, Thibs didn’t want him and they did it anyway,” that source told Berman. Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report previously reported that Thibodeau “wasn’t necessarily gung-ho” about the acquisition of Reddish.
In a separate story for The New York Post, Berman cites a rival GM who says Julius Randle doesn’t have a whole lot of trade value at this point. “I think you could look at last season as more an anomaly,” one Western Conference personnel director told Berman. “This season is more akin to his first six seasons.”