From the time Leon Rose was hired by team owner James Dolan in March 2020 as Knicks president, the Cherry Hill, New Jersey native has operated the franchise methodically and meticulously — the antithesis of some his recent predecessors, namely Isiah Thomas, Steve Mills and Phil Jackson, intelligent but impulsive men whose visions of building the Knicks into a championship contender were fraught with unstable leadership, imprudent coaching hires and failed player acquisition.
Rose, while not perfect, has been nearly flawless in the aforementioned facets, particularly his decision to sign head coach Tom Thibodeau to be the Knicks’ locker room and bench shepherd. Thibodeau, named the Knicks’ head coach in July 2020, was the right man to bring respectability and credibility to a franchise that had become a mockery, finishing 21-45 in the 2019-2020 COVID-shortened campaign the year before and missing the playoffs the previous seven seasons.
Thibodeau led the Knicks to the Eastern Conference semifinals last year and the franchise’s first conference finals in 25 years this season. But apparent unresolvable philosophical differences between Rose and Thibodeau resulted in the latter being let go by Rose and Dolan on June 3. Apparently, outcomes in the standings and elevation in the postseason weren’t the most critically important determinants considering the year-over-year ascension of the team under Thibodeau.
So now, for the first time in his tenure with the Knicks, Rose doesn’t seem to have a definitive and executable plan to secure his next head coach. When it was announced that he had parted ways with Thibodeau, Rose was rightfully afforded the benefit of doubt by a multitude of Knicks fans and media that he already had Thibodeau’s successor secured. The prevailing view was that it would be illogical for Rose to terminate a coach who had taken the team to the doorstep of the finals before locking in his replacement.
But Rose doesn’t yet have an agreement with a new head coach. Media reports surfaced on Wednesday, specifically from ESPN, that the Houston Rockets, Minnesota Timberwolves and Dallas Mavericks had denied the Knicks’ request to speak with, respectively, Ime Udoka, Chris Finch and Jason Kidd, those teams’ head coaches.
The uncertainty and amateurish approach to vice gripping a new head coach conjures memories of past Knicks regimes and elicits anxiety from a fan base that once had unshakable faith in Rose but today is looking at him side-eyed and with skepticism. Because he doesn’t speak with the media regarding Knicks business, what blueprint Rose has for the team moving forward is protected as securely as U.S nuclear launch codes. Very few know what he is endeavoring or going to do.
Consequently, the bloom could fade off of Rose.