The New York Knicks made a surprising move right after finishing their 2024-25 campaign. The franchise shocked the world by firing head coach Tom Thibodeau despite making a run to the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Knicks have interviewed a couple of candidates after reportedly being denied access to in-contract coaches. An NBA agent shared a hot take on Thibodeau’s firing and New York’s head coach hunt.
NBA Agent Rips Knicks for Firing Tom Thibodeau Without Backup Plan
The Knicks finished the regular season with a 51-31 record, securing the third seed in the Eastern Conference. They went on to defeat the Detroit Pistons in the first round of the playoffs. They knocked out the defending champions, the Boston Celtics, in the conference semifinals.
New York bowed out of the tournament on May 31, with a 4-2 loss to the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals, and parted ways with Thibodeau on Tuesday, June 3. The Knicks are yet to find the right candidate to replace Thibodeau.
NBA Agent Andy Miller doesn’t seem pleased with the way the Knicks have handled the situation. During an interview on SiriusXM NBA, Miller slammed the team for their decisions.
“I don’t know what they are gonna do with their staff…. I don’t really know where Jason Kidd is in his process with the Knicks because I don’t really know what the process is with the Knicks. Not because I don’t know, because I don’t even know if the Knicks know what their process is,” Miller said.
Miller also shared his thoughts on the Knicks’ approach towards under-contract coaches, speaking with and offering them contracts.
“Yeah, I think that creates an enormous amount of resentment between general managers. I mean, there’s a fake brotherhood that goes on there, where they’re all one happy family. They’re all friendly with each other, but they’re all competing with each other.”
The NBA agent used the Houston Rockets’ situation to explain how the Knicks are inflating the head coach market.
“Even in Houston, as an example, I’m confident in saying that Ime would have and had deserved the opportunity to get a new contract, and so they were probably going down that path anyway,” Miller said.
“But when called for permission to interview with New York, gave him greater leverage, and he probably got a better deal than maybe he was the thought that they should provide for him or present to him at that point so I can’t see Houston saying thanks for asking for permission, making it public, New York.”
Miller made a bold statement about the Knicks’ moves after sacking Thibodeau.
“There probably was a knee-jerk reaction to why someone like Thibodeau is fired without a plan in place. I think it’s more of a reflection of that than anything else.”
“I don’t really know where Jason Kidd is in his process with the Knicks, bc I don’t really know what the process is with the Knicks…I don’t even know if the Knicks know what their process is”
— Klutch agent Andy Miller who represents several coaches on Jason Kidd’s Mavs staff pic.twitter.com/oLzKv3RIFS
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) June 25, 2025
The Knicks’ decision to let Thibodeau go came as a surprise, as the Knicks seemed to have entered their championship window. They have been knocking on the door for quite some time, and the 67-year-old might have led them to the NBA championship in the coming years.
The Knicks are leaning toward Taylor Jenkins and Mike Brown as their top choices for the head coach position. Minnesota Timberwolves’ assistant Micah Nori has also joined the race.
Jenkins, who went 250-214 in his six years with the Memphis Grizzlies, was fired with just nine games left in the 2024-25 season despite having the team comfortably sitting at No. 5 in the West with a 44 – 29 record at the time.
The 40-year-old coach has an impressive résumé, including two Western Conference Coach of the Month awards and a division title in 2022. He’s also seen as a strong culture builder, something the Knicks have worked hard to establish under Thibodeau.
Brown brings even more mileage with a career 454-304 record, nearly three decades of NBA coaching experience, and two Coach of the Year honors. His first year in Sacramento was a revival story as he turned the Kings into a 48-win team and ended their 16-year playoff drought.
But just six months after signing an extension, the Kings dismissed Brown following a disappointing 13-18 start to the 2024-25 season.
Both Jenkins and Brown share something in common with Thibodeau — strong regular-season performance and a defensive identity, but questions about their ability to win big when it matters most. That very issue reportedly led Knicks owner James Dolan to push the button on Thibodeau’s exit, even after the team reached the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in 25 years.
