Any Knicks fans holding out hope for Tom Thibodeau should probably let those dreams go.
According to Marc Berman of the New York Post, Thibodeau is not a candidate for New York’s coaching job. Phil Jackson reportedly speaks regularly with Bulls executive John Paxson and his brother Jim, who is a Bulls consultant. Thus, he doesn’t have the best impression of Thibodeau, and is not a fan of his chaotic approach.
Similarly, the Knicks reportedly get the impression that another top candidate, Luke Walton, will not be leaving his role as a Warriors assistant when the season ends.
Barring a mystery candidate, that leaves interim coach Kurt Rambis and former Nuggets coach Brian Shaw as the likeliest potential options. Notably, both have significant ties to the Lakers and Jackson in particular. Rambis’s continuity and, perhaps most importantly, the fact that he keeps Jackson in the inner circle when it comes to basketball operations are factors that could work in his favor. According to Berman, however, he isn’t as widely respected by the players as his predecessor Derek Fisher was.
Ultimately, it sounds like a huge factor in Jackson’s decision will be how involved the coach allows him to be. That would seem to give Rambis the inside track despite the multitude of issues he’s faced since taking over. With Jackson apparently not interested in coming down to the bench himself, the reports that his preferred solution would be to make Rambis the permanent head coach may not be far off.
