Tom Thibodeau’s firing was so divisive that it came up during Wednesday’s NYC Democratic mayoral debate.
Yes, really.
The debate hosted by NBC 4 included a question for nine of the candidates competing in June’s primary about their reaction to Tuesday’s dismissal of Thibodeau after five seasons at the helm.
From left to right, the candidates all gave thumbs down that they disapproved of the decision — including the front runners in former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani — until Michael Blake gave an emphatic thumbs up.
The candidate then explained that the firing made sense, given that the league is a results-oriented one.
“Our goal is to win the Finals, not to get to the conference finals,” Blake said.
It was not clear how Scott Stringer, the former city comptroller, voted during the prompt.
Follow The Post’s coverage of the Knicks’ stunning firing of head coach Tom Thibodeau
Thibodeau’s ouster shocked plenty of people throughout the game of basketball, including Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle, who got the best of the Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals in six games.
Carlisle said that when he first heard the news, he thought it was completely fabricated.
“Thibs went in and changed so much. You look at all that and what happened yesterday, I thought [the news] was one of those fake AI things,” Carlisle said. “No way. No way possible. I know how the players feel about him, too.”
Thibodeau’s five-year tenure included a 226-174 record during the regular season and four trips to the postseason, but the last two ended at the hands of the Pacers.
ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania said Tuesday the consensus around the league was that people were “stunned,” given Thibodeau’s positive track record.
“My phone is blowing up right now with executives, everyone around the league [is] just stunned,” Charania said during an appearance on “SportsCenter.”
Now, the Knicks are on the hunt for a new coach, and the team will likely prioritize experience, The Post’s Stefan Bondy reported.
Read the full article here
