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New York Knicks: 3 targets that suit Tom Thibodeau’s playstyle

By Orestis Rantis

Dec 28, 2018; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Tom Thibodeau looks on during the second half against the Atlanta Hawks at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 28, 2018; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Tom Thibodeau looks on during the second half against the Atlanta Hawks at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports /
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New York Knicks
New York Knicks Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images /

The recent hiring of Tom Thibodeau brings an entirely new philosophy to the New York Knicks organization, one that hopefully will yield a playoff run.

The New York Knicks have been struggling to find a solid head coach for quite a while now, making one-year rentals for people that have less than minimum experience at managing a big market team.

By hiring Tom Thibodeau, the New York Knicks have made a few things clear. First of all, they want to invest in their youth development, as they have some of the best young talents in the league.

Secondly, a statement that appears to be clear is that the defense starts now. If you want to have even the slightest chance at making the playoffs, playing your heart out on the defensive end must be priority number one.

By combining these two visions, the answer to the equation was Tom Thibodeau, a man known for both of the aforementioned. Having coached both the Chicago Bulls and the Minnesota Timberwolves, he has a knack for helping his guys take the next leap in their careers.

A lesser-known fact is that he is not a first-timer in New York. Thibodeau was the assistant head coach to Jeff Van Gundy in the historic 1998-99 Knicks team that made it to the NBA Finals under Patrick Ewing.

In 2010-11, during the first year in the league as a head coach, he received the Coach of the Year award. If that wasn’t enough, he led the Bulls to the first seed in the league with 62 wins and an MVP Derrick Rose in just his third season in the NBA.

When this offseason finally kicks in, the Knicks will be looking to fill the roster with quality veterans on short-term contracts. Hopefully better ones than last season.

Most importantly, these guys must fit Thibodeau’s play style in order to click with the entire team that will have been practicing for months.

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