Knicks will regret hiring Tom Thibodeau over Kenny Atkinson

Tom Thibodeau lingered as the favorite for the job, but the Knicks will regret not hiring Kenny Atkinson as their next head coach.

As the list of candidates grew for the New York Knicks head coaching job, Tom Thibodeau lingered as the favorite. Former Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson also seemed to be a top candidate, and really a no-brainer hire given the Knicks’ situation, but any buzz around him seemed to fade.

As reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Saturday, the Knicks are finalizing a five-year deal with Thibodeau to make him their next head coach. In his last NBA stint, Thibs was fired before his third season was over as coach/president of the Minnesota Timberwolves. He had an overall successful tenure with the Chicago Bulls from 2010-15, but also a tumultuous one due to conflict with the front office.

It’s not entirely the same, but Atkinson’s dismissal by the Nets is akin to when the Golden State Warriors let Mark Jackson go. Maybe, with a 118-190 record over three-plus seasons, he was not seen as the coach to take the team to the next level. For what it’s worth, there are indications Kyrie Irving had soured on him, and Kevin Durant might like to have a hand in picking a coach. But not being well-received by two of the most overly sensitive superstars in sports is hardly a black mark on Atkinson.

In Brooklyn, Atkinson proved he could work with young players and he showed he is a modern NBA thinker. Thibodeau’s reputation precedes him, as a hard-driving sideline screamer who plays guys way too many minutes. Somehow, per Wojnarowki’s article, the Knicks are counting on Thibodeau’s “history in player development as a head coach and an assistant.” With the young core of RJ Barrett, Kevin Knox, Mitchell Robinson and whoever they draft with a high pick this year, Thibodeau might need a refresher on what qualifies as player development in this era. Maybe he’ll have a lead assistant who can get through to him on that front.

The Knicks are in perpetual reset/rebuild mode, but they seem to want to get ahead of themselves in the process with coaches and executives that don’t fit or are just plain bad hires. Thibodeau is the kind of coach, for better or worse with his old school ways, that you hire when you’re on the doorstep of playoff contention or trying to instill a new mentality. The Knicks are not in the first position, but they do need the latter.

Based on the franchise’s history over the last 20 years, there’s little chance Thibodeau fulfills a five-year deal as the Knicks coach. But maybe new team president Leon Rose can spearhead the addition of the right pieces, preach a bit of patience to owner James Dolan, and the Knicks can return to some level of on-court relevance with Thibodeau as the coach.

Atkinson seemed like the perfect fit for the Knicks, with reported “internal support” for him in mid-June as he essentially fell right into their laps from across town. But Thibodeau never really faded as the proverbial favorite for the job. Now the Knicks can watch Atkinson land somewhere else and surely have success, with only eventual regret to follow as Thibodeau wears out his welcome and practically forces a move to fire him in 2-3 years.