Former NBA head coach George Karl is a fan of newly-hired New York Knicks bench tactician Tom Thibodeau, but thinks the problems with the struggling franchise are insurmountable unless a change is made at the very top.
“Thibs is a great coach. But the [Knicks] could hire [Gregg Popovich] or Steve Kerr and the results won’t change much. As long as [James Dolan] owns the franchise, it’s hard to believe any real success can happen,” the former Seattle SuperSonics and Denver Nuggets coach tweeted on Saturday.
The revamped Knicks front office, now led by president Leon Rose, made its first major move on Saturday by officially inking Thibodeau to a five-year deal to replace interim head coach Mike Miller after an extensive coaching search. Thibodeau—a Knicks assistant from 1996-2004 and former head coach of the Chicago Bulls and Minnesota Timberwolves—is widely respected amongst his fellow coaches.
On the other hand, the franchise's owner is widely maligned by just about everybody and remains the biggest obstacle to New York orchestrating a true organizational turnaround.
Dolan has owned the Knicks since 1997. The franchise hasn't had a winning record since 2012-13, hasn't signed a first-round pick to a second contract since Charlie Ward, and last reached the Conference Finals in 2001. Despite the basketball woes and repeated petty behavior by Dolan, the Knicks remains the most valuable team in basketball at $4.6 billion, according to the 2020 Forbes rankings.
Still, the chaotic culture and frequent shake-ups Dolan has overseen have severely hindered their ability to land marquee free agents.
Thibodeau will be the Knicks' 13th head coach in 17 seasons.
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