Ever since Tom Thibodeau was hired by the Knicks in 2020, he has completely turned the franchise around. Under his leadership, they ended a seven-year playoff drought and made it to the postseason in four of the last five seasons. He also led the New York team to their first Conference Finals since 2000. But despite the clear impact, there is one big question on everyone’s mind: can Thibodeau lead the Knicks to the ultimate goal of winning a championship?

Well, he was unable to do so this year, as his team was sent packing by the Pacers in six games. That’s why many believe the Knicks front office could consider parting ways with the head coach this summer, and look for a new voice in the locker room. However, amid the rumors, veteran insider Shams Charania made the front office’s stance clear about Thibodeau’s future, “I’m told the Knicks have internal meetings this week to evaluate everything from the roster, different changes they could make around everything.”

He continued, “Tom Thibodeau called it a very important offseason coming up and this is a team that has won 50 games plus in consecutive seasons for the first time since the early 90s. 4 of his 5 seasons as head coach, they’ve made it to the playoffs. So, it’s been a successful run. Jalen Brunson is fully supportive. That front office is fully supportive of Tom Thibodeau as well, but I do expect them to be very active and aggressive on the roster.”

Yes, when Brunson was indirectly asked if he thinks Thibodeau is the right person for the job, he was clearly bothered by the question, and fully backed his head coach, “Is that a real question right now? You just asked me if I believe that he’s the right guy. YES.” Per league sources, coach also has the backing of President Leon Rose. Moreover, Thibs just inked a three-year extension last summer. So, the chances of him returning as the Knicks’ head coach next season are looking strong. However, nothing is certain because the power to make the final decision lies with owner James Dolan. If the said internal meetings lead to a new path forward, Dolan might not hesitate to take it for the betterment of his franchise.

Per Ian Begley said, “In important corners of the organization, there is a disappointment and an urge to get to The Finals and win a championship. That’s how they’re viewing this postmortem with this club… Tom Thibodeau, from a 30,000-foot view obviously deserves to be back. He coached the team to an ECF… everything points to Thibodeau being back. But given this evaluation period, to me it’s a question mark until we hear otherwise.” So, despite Jalen and front office’s support, Thibodeau’s Knicks’ future is not fully safe. Neither is Karl-Anthony Towns’!

Locker room tensions due to Karl-Anthony Towns make things difficult for Knicks’ front office

Unfortunately, Tom’s future is not the only dilemma bothering the Knicks this summer. According to a recent report by The Athletic, major tensions have emerged in their locker room due to KAT’s unusual defensive habits. “Publicly, Knicks players made veiled comments all season about poor communication causing their inconsistencies. Behind the scenes, they and coaches expressed frustration with Towns’ defensive habits — less concerned with his talent level and more with his process on that end. Too often, Towns executed incorrect coverages without communicating why he did it. After it became a theme, players worried Towns didn’t grasp the importance of the matter.” The report stated.

Sure, Towns had a solid offensive run in the playoffs, averaging 21.4 points and nearly twelve rebounds. But he was a non-factor on defense for most of the Pacers series, allowing them to exploit the Knicks’ paint and accumulate massive totals in each game. This makes you wonder – Is KAT the right superstar to pair alongside Brunson? Although it’s been only a year since Rose acquired Towns in exchange for Julius Randle among other assets, he could reconsider the former Wolves star’s future this summer. “If the last year and a half is any indication, Knicks president Leon Rose has gone out and gotten OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, Karl-Anthony Towns. I expect him to be just as aggressive this offseason whether it’s a landmark player that you could bring in there or definitely depth on that bench.” Charania added.

With the vision of capitalizing on the Brunson window and winning the championship, you can expect the Knicks to make a massive revamp this summer and upgrade their roster to pursue their ultimate goal next season. No team member is safe!