Knicks fire Tom Thibodeau, join Suns in search for a new head coach

As the Phoenix Suns reduced a search down to two candidates for their head-coaching job, the New York Knicks have begun their own hunt for a new leader. Tom Thibodeau has been fired despite leading New York to an Eastern Conference Finals appearance this year, its first in 25 years, ESPN’s Shams Charania first reported.

The Knicks were eliminated by the Indiana Pacers with a loss in Game 6 on Saturday night. They then decided to move on from Thibodeau, who led them to the postseason in four of his five seasons in New York.

The decision was made by team president Leon Rose with approval from owner Jim Dolan, the person told the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because no announcement had been made.

“Our organization is singularly focused on winning a championship for our fans,” New York said in a statement. “This pursuit led us to the difficult decision to inform Tom Thibodeau that we’ve decided to move in another direction.

“Ultimately, we made the decision we feel is best for our organization moving forward.”

Will the Knicks firing Tom Thibodeau impact the Suns’ head-coaching search?

The weirder twist to this regarding the Suns is that one of their top two candidates for their opening, Cleveland Cavaliers associate head coach Johnnie Bryant, was Thibodeau’s top assistant with the Knicks from 2021-24.

Phoenix has cut the options down to Bryant and fellow Cavaliers assistant Jordan Ott. Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro reports a decision is expected by the end of the week.

The Suns have neared the end of a thorough coaching search, reportedly interviewing more than a dozen candidates, without much competition elsewhere in the league.

The Denver Nuggets’ hiring of interim coach David Adelman on May 22 left the Suns with the only opening.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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