Isaiah Hartenstein played under Tom Thibodeau on the New York Knicks, and now he has his say on the controversial firing.
The New York Knicks decided they needed to change things this offseason. After a successful season that ended in heartbreak, they felt they had to try a different approach.
Controversially, the Knicks decided to fire Tom Thibodeau after five great years, feeling that they needed a fresh start.
Understandably, many were unhappy with the decision. Tom Thibodeau even snubbed Leon Rose and James Dolan in his farewell letter, suggesting some friction between the two sides.
Given how close Thibodeau was to the Knicks players, this move was sure to have affected the players. In fact, one former Knicks star who played under Thibodeau was shocked to see this move.
Photo by J. Conrad Williams Jr./Newsday RM via Getty ImagesIsaiah Hartenstein taken aback by Tom Thibodeau firing
Isaiah Hartenstein made an appearance on the Rich Eisen show recently. The longtime media mogul asked Hartenstein about his former team, the New York Knicks, firing Tom Thibodeau.
He noted that he was surprised that Thibs was let go, given how much success he brought to the Knicks. But at the end of the day, the Knicks will always prioritize themselves and will make decisions to ensure their sustained success.
“A little bit. The stuff he did for the team. Before he came there, the Knicks weren’t really winning much at all, not to be rude.
“Him coming there, he changed the culture, he did a great job building the culture. Going to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in a long time, he did a great job there.
“But we all know that, at the end of the day, the Knicks do what’s best for them. Thibs was great for me. He was a great coach.”
New York Knicks now trust Mike Brown to lead them to success
Since firing Tom Thibodeau, the Knicks have had a long-running search for their next head coach. It was quite an embarrassing saga, as the Knicks got rejected by several teams when they tried interviewing their head coaches.
Eventually, the Knicks hired Mike Brown, in a move that could spell the start of their next great era. Brown is a tenured coach in the NBA and has found success in the past.
However, there are some concerns surrounding Brown, given that he hasn’t been able to win an NBA championship despite coaching some brilliant teams.
The closest he came was in 2007, when LeBron James willed an unlikely Cleveland Cavaliers to the NBA Finals, only to be swept by the San Antonio Spurs.
The Knicks will hope that he can avoid the same fate with them and lead the franchise to their first NBA championship in 53 years.