Magic on how the Knicks mishandled the Thibodeau firing: “I can’t believe they didn’t have a plan in place” originally appeared on Basketball Network.
The New York Knicks’ decision to part ways with Tom Thibodeau hasn’t sat well with many people around the league. Count NBA legend Magic Johnson among those who believe the Knicks made a mistake.
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The Los Angeles Lakers icon made an appearance on a recent “First Take” episode, where he and hosts Stephen A. Smith and Molly Qerim discussed various hot topics in the NBA. Johnson brought up the reports that New York has been denied permission to interview currently tenured head coaches and recognized how “bad” the state of affairs is within the franchise.
“I can’t believe they didn’t have a plan in place,” Magic said of the Knicks’ head coaching drama.
Giving Thibs a longer leash
According to the three-time MVP, he would have given Thibodeau at least one more year to try to fix what went wrong with the Knicks, especially since he was instrumental in the team advancing to the Conference finals for the first time in 25 years.
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Even so, the tension appeared to be high within the organization, with the players saying that a change was needed. Maybe they were simply asking their former coach to extend his rotation, but as many are aware, the two-time Coach of the Year just had an inexplicable aversion to playing more than seven or eight guys on any given night.
Given that, the Knicks probably thought that making a seismic change in the personnel instead of asking Thibs to change his ways was easier. However, because of how things played out in the Big Apple, Johnson believes the onus is now on the players to deliver a long-awaited championship to the franchise.
To be fair to New York, it was able to assemble an impressive roster, although its depth was exposed in its Eastern Conference finals loss to the Indiana Pacers. The jury is out on whether the lack of depth was the front office’s fault or if it was due to Thibodeau’s refusal to give more bench players additional playing time during the regular season to prepare them for the playoffs.
Botching the search for a replacement
Johnson probably would have been more accepting of the Knicks’ decision if they had the following steps mapped out after letting go of Thibs. However, that does not seem to be the case, as the candidates they have reportedly sought first are still employed. They even apparently tried poaching the coach of one of the franchise’s villains, Trae Young, resulting in the Atlanta Hawks star finding another reason to laugh at the Knickerbockers again.
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If it isn’t clear by now, New York must alter its strategy for finding Thibodeau’s successor. Rather than go for current head coaches, it should expand its scope and target candidates who are available and work “behind the scenes.”
Magic even offered suggestions, naming Mark Jackson and Sam Cassell.
Jackson is a familiar name among the Knicks faithful, as the retired point guard helped transform the team into a perennial contender in the 1990s. He also experienced some success as the Golden State Warriors’ coach for three seasons from 2011 to 2014.
As for Cassell, he arguably deserves the chance to secure a head coaching position after having been an assistant coach since 2008. The players he has worked with have spoken highly of him, and Sam brings championship pedigree, having won three titles, one of which came during his rookie campaign and another in his final season as a player.
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Maybe either of those retired point guards is what New York needs to recover from the fallout of the Thibodeau firing.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jun 13, 2025, where it first appeared.