For a team that's been defined by turmoil for much of the decade, the New York Knicks are suddenly one of the NBA's most stable, well-run, cohesive organizations.
In recent years, the Knicks have had a high hit rate in the draft, free agency, and in trades.
Team president Leon Rose, head coach Tom Thibodeau, and team captain Jalen Brunson are all seemingly in lockstep, and the Knicks have assembled a talented team with great chemistry and compatible personalities.
However, it wasn't always that way early on. Veteran New York sports reporter Ian O'Connor said on the "Knicks Film School" podcast that there were some disagreements between Rose and Thibodeau early on in Rose's tenure with the Knicks.
"Early on, some of [Rose's] moves, I didn't like, to be honest with you," O'Connor said on the podcast. "I criticized him for a couple moves he made. I think Thibs, based on the sources I talked to, wasn't happy with a couple of moves Leon Rose made.
"At the end of the day, the guy's done a great job."
O'Connor didn't specify which moves Thibodeau didn't like.
Based on how their Knicks tenures panned out, drafting Obi Tobbin in 2020, signing Evan Fournier to a four-year, $73 million contract in 2021, or trading for Cam Reddish in 2022 may have been moves Thibodeau didn't like. Toppin and Reddish never fully gained Thibodeau's trust to play big minutes. Fourier, although he was a good shooter, didn't contribute elsewhere and eventually fell out of the Knicks' rotation entirely.
All three players have since been dealt to other teams.
It's clear that the Knicks are now built with Thibodeau's preferences in mind — smart, tough, competitive, two-way players. Various reports in recent years have said that Thibodeau plays a bigger role in the draft and other transactions than people may realize.
It seems to have worked. Knicks players, from Brunson to Josh Hart, frequently defend Thibodeau from public criticism.
Things were even shaky for Thibodeau for a bit, however. The Knicks went 10-13 to begin the 2022-23 season, sparking chatter that Thibodeau's job could be on the line. However, the team turned things around, going 37-22 the rest of the way and making the second round of the playoffs. Thibodeau then led the Knicks to their best season in a decade as the team won 50 games, earned the second seed in the East, and made the second round of the playoffs again.
Rose has now built a roster full of two-way guards, wings, and forwards that should fit Thibodeau's vision perfectly. And Thibodeau, for his success the last two years, got a three-year extension to try to lead the Knicks to a championship.
O'Connor thinks they'll get there.
"They have a chance in the next two, three years to win a championship, and I think they will."
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