Do the New York Knicks know what tampering is?
Okay, just checking. Because this sounds a lot like tampering.
While on ESPN New York 98.7 FM, Stephen A. Smith made it clear that the Knicks want Chicago Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau to be their next head coach. He also made it clear that they’ve actually let Thibs in on their little not-so-secret desire.
From BasketballInsiders.com’s Tommy Beer:
Stephen A Smith, on ESPN radio, says: "The Knicks would like to have Tom Thibodeau as coach. Fact. They have let him know they want him."
— Tommy Beer (@TommyBeer) February 5, 2014
I mean, wow. Not because we should be surprised. ESPN’s Marc Stein suggested the Knicks would eventually chase Thibs back in December. But still…wow.
Smith’s words come on the heels of The Record‘s Steve Popper saying the Knicks may fire Mike Woodson before the Feb. 20 trade deadline:
You know what they say about a sinking ship? The rats desert the ship and the captain goes down with it — and coach Mike Woodson may be on his last days afloat.
Left behind to explain the team’s latest round of troubles were Woodson and a pair of veterans, Tyson Chandler and Amar’e Stoudemire.
And what they had to say wasn’t exactly reassuring — Woodson’s words not encouraging for the team’s fading chances and in particular, the usually positive Stoudemire’s words not encouraging for Woodson, whom one league source said could be removed before the Feb. 20 trade deadline.
Clue me in if I’m being ignorant, but what does that do? Not firing Woodson per se, but firing him by Feb. 20. Thibs is under contract with the Bulls for a few more years, so it’s not like he would magically become available. In fact, the only way he even becomes available after this season is if he parts ways with Chicago. Knowing how often he doesn’t see eye-to-eye with the front office, that’s not necessarily out of the question—though it could be if Chicago knows he’s just going to sign with an Eastern Conference rival—but it is months away.
That makes the Feb. 20 business curious. Perhaps it’s so the Knicks’ front office and new coach could go over potential trades or something like that, but even if Woodson was fired as you were reading this, that gives the team very little time to make something happen.
Back to this Thibs thing, though. It’s so Knicks. Not only are they lusting after someone they don’t have, they’re apparently telling said person they want him. I’m guessing no one ever taught them how to play hard to get.
This “report” does need to be approached with extreme caution. There’s no doubt in my mind Smith has well-paced sources throughout New York, but just last week he said the Knicks planned to fire Woodson and chase Jeff Van Gundy. Now they’re illegally courting Thibs. Which is it?
Truth told, with the Knicks, you never know. One day they want one thing, the next they want something different entirely. Such impulsive thinking applies to players, coaches and what brand of toilet paper they use in the locker room. They’re a puzzle.
A soul-wrenching, blood-curdling, infuriating puzzle.
Let’s hope, if what Smith says is true, the Knicks aren’t texting Thibs those last seven words as an opening.
Dan Favale is a firm believer in the three-pointer as well as the notion that defense doesn’t always win championships. His musings can be found at Bleacherreport.com in addition to TheHoopDoctors.com.
