DLeethal wrote:

franco12 wrote:

DLeethal wrote:I'm a Thibs supporter but wouldn't extend him and would prefer to get a younger coach after his term and let him morph into an advisory role. Thibs is the 3rd oldest coach in the NBA and doesn't look like the healthiest dude ever. I'm cool with Thibs sticking around though in a different capacity.

I don’t know if I am in the boat of not wanting to extend him because of his age, but it has to be a consideration.

Does he want to commit and how much does he have left in the tank.

If I had to make a decision, I would extend him, but see that I am developing a next gen of coaches to take over.

Much of it also depends on the construction of the team, how close we are to contention, etc. If we have a contender on the precipice that Thibs largely help build do we extend him a couple years or something to give him a legit shot with them? Sure. Am I just giving him a 5 year extension with lots of uncertainty around the roster construction for that period? Probably not. I'd rather let him be an advisor and have Johnny Bryant take over with Thibs still providing some tutelage.

If left to make the decision, Thibs will coach until he's on his deathbed. At some point you need to get a younger, fresher coach IMO. Especially if our team remains young and the future is still an open canvas.

I agree with these sentiments.

But from a practical matter does the number of years that you extend someone really matter? Especially in this coaching situation where you might want to move him upstairs to FO advisor? You extend Thibs 5 years and if after 1 or 2 or 3 he needs to moved out, you just do it.

Nalod wrote:Thibs gets better with Age. Unless he is too tired, why would age be a thing? Experience matters.
Has Knicks wiffed on a few in his tenure? What team has not?
Has he adapted? Yep.
Kicks ranked better offensively than defensively last year. So is rep did not follow.
All said, no need to extend him now. He is part of the family and not going anywhere for two years.
Im sure the FO will address it with him in due time.

It's moreso just going with the grain of the NBA. Coaches are getting younger, they are bringing fresh thoughts and strategies to the game across the board. You are seeing this in the NFL too. At some point having a guy pushing 70 is going to be counterproductive to our teams development, and there's a reason the well run orgs are mostly all going younger. Not an issue now, but we should be considering what the next 5 years will look like for this team.

If you look at coaches over 60. You have Pop, then you have the Hornets (Clifford), Pacers (Carlisle), Knicks (Thibs). Pistons (Casey) were on this list last year as well. Not exactly the cream of the crop in terms of high caliber organizations.

DLeethal wrote:

Nalod wrote:Thibs gets better with Age. Unless he is too tired, why would age be a thing? Experience matters.
Has Knicks wiffed on a few in his tenure? What team has not?
Has he adapted? Yep.
Kicks ranked better offensively than defensively last year. So is rep did not follow.
All said, no need to extend him now. He is part of the family and not going anywhere for two years.
Im sure the FO will address it with him in due time.

It's moreso just going with the grain of the NBA. Coaches are getting younger, they are bringing fresh thoughts and strategies to the game across the board. You are seeing this in the NFL too. At some point having a guy pushing 70 is going to be counterproductive to our teams development, and there's a reason the well run orgs are mostly all going younger. Not an issue now, but we should be considering what the next 5 years will look like for this team.

If you look at coaches over 60. You have Pop, then you have the Hornets (Clifford), Pacers (Carlisle), Knicks (Thibs). Pistons (Casey) were on this list last year as well. Not exactly the cream of the crop in terms of high caliber organizations.

My point would not be to extend Thibs to Kingdom Come. Rather appreciate what he has done and where we seem to be headed. An extension of some sort is usually seen as a vote of confidence. He has earned that and I believe the Knicks couldn't do much better if at all.

KnickDanger wrote:

DLeethal wrote:

Nalod wrote:Thibs gets better with Age. Unless he is too tired, why would age be a thing? Experience matters.
Has Knicks wiffed on a few in his tenure? What team has not?
Has he adapted? Yep.
Kicks ranked better offensively than defensively last year. So is rep did not follow.
All said, no need to extend him now. He is part of the family and not going anywhere for two years.
Im sure the FO will address it with him in due time.

It's moreso just going with the grain of the NBA. Coaches are getting younger, they are bringing fresh thoughts and strategies to the game across the board. You are seeing this in the NFL too. At some point having a guy pushing 70 is going to be counterproductive to our teams development, and there's a reason the well run orgs are mostly all going younger. Not an issue now, but we should be considering what the next 5 years will look like for this team.

If you look at coaches over 60. You have Pop, then you have the Hornets (Clifford), Pacers (Carlisle), Knicks (Thibs). Pistons (Casey) were on this list last year as well. Not exactly the cream of the crop in terms of high caliber organizations.

Fair points, although it will be interesting to see where the Spurs go now. Knicks too for that matter.

My point would not be to extend Thibs to Kingdom Come. Rather appreciate what he has done and where we seem to be headed. An extension of some sort is usually seen as a vote of confidence. He has earned that and I believe the Knicks couldn't do much better if at all.

Im guessing as long as “The family” is together he is the coach. I say give him one year extensions for good money so he always has two in front of him. If Leon retires and there is a new regime maybe Thibs is cool with it, and maybe not. BUt it gives him one year severence. Larry Brown knew 5 years was enough and they would tire of him. Not sure what Thibs thinks but Bryant might be inline already and they just role with that at some point. His name never came up in any coaching search this off season. Previously he was considered for Utah.
We can read into this many differnet ways. Facts are Thibs is here for two years and this team is commited NOW for internal growth. This may all be part of the big plan for all we know.

TheMTL wrote:I would agree but I don't like how Thibs handles Randle. Luckily, he had a great season last year but even early this year. Thibs has already shown his inability to manage him

The problem is Randle is the best player on the team. If he was the 3rd or 4th best player, the team would be in better shape. Brunson is stepping up and taking over but it's still a 1a / 1b role. With RJ climbing up for that 1b spot. But as this team is constructed, we go as far as Randle takes us.

I'm guessing how Thibs handles Obi's replacement will be factored into how the FO proceeds. Cant ride Randle until the wheels come off. One is already in bad shape.