With Tom Thibodeau gone, Stephen A. Smith has proposed three names to take over the job at the New York Knicks.
The New York Knicks have concluded the 2025 Eastern Conference Finals under the leadership of head coach Tom Thibodeau.
However, Thibodeau was kicked out by the Indiana Pacers’ Rick Carlisle as the Knicks served as a 4-2 series loss in the ECF.
After the final humiliation of the meeting, the Knicks decided to plunder Coach Thibodeau after five years of service. So, the question is who should replace the coaches? NBA analyst Stephen A. Smith has a few names in mind.
The Knicks have not won the NBA Championship since 1973. In fact, they have seen very little postseason success in the last 25 years.
Nevertheless, the organization has one of the league’s most passionate fanbases. Obviously, coaching the Knicks isn’t everyone’s tea.
With that in mind, Smith believes that Stephen Curry’s former mentor Mark Jackson is the perfect fit for his job.
“The name I came up with is Mark Jackson. He did a great job with the Golden State Warriors, so the man was exiled and inexplicably turned into a black ball,” Smith said.
Smith also pointed out that it is impossible to ignore former Denba Nuggets head coach Michael Malone.
“Of course, we can’t ignore Michael Malone and his championship pedigree. He has been ruled out for two years from winning the championship in Denver with perhaps the greatest player in the world, Nicola Jokic.
“You have to consider those names,” Smith continued.
Jackson and Malone have a proven track record in the NBA as head coaches for the Warriors and Nuggets. But as mentioned before, it’s not easy to become the Knicks guy behind the clipboard.
In that memo, Smith finally suggested that Rick Branson, the father of Jaren Branson, who was Thibodeau’s lead assistant coach, is also a great option.
“Rick Branson. Don’t forget him. He is Jalen Branson’s father. He is the lead assistant for the New York Knicks. He has something to do with every player, perhaps not going anywhere,” Smith added.
“He’s very accountable. He knows basketball games, he knows what they endured, he knows that change needs to be adopted, he might need to adopt things, and he might need to let things go,” ESPN analysts concluded.
Simply put, the Knicks have many options to choose from as they continue to search for new voices after the 2025 postseason run.
