Knicks fire Tom Thibodeau - What's next for New York's open job? - ESPN

What lies ahead for the New York Knicks after the franchise fired head coach Tom Thibodeau on Tuesday?

Thibodeau guided the Knicks to their first Eastern Conference finals since 2000. New York defeated the Detroit Pistons in the first round and dethroned the defending champion Boston Celtics in the second round before falling in six games to the Indiana Pacers. Thibodeau finishes his tenure in New York with 24 playoff wins, 17 more than the team's past 13 coaches combined, according to ESPN Research.

Why fire Thibodeau now, and where could the front office turn in its search? Which high-profile coaches could be available? And what other moves might follow now that one of the most successful runs in franchise history has ended without a title, extending the Knicks' championship drought to 52 seasons?

Our NBA insiders examine every angle of Thibodeau's firing, including what could be next for the 67-year-old coach.

The theory of Occam's Razor says that when trying to solve a problem, the simplest solution is likely the correct one.

In this case, Thibodeau's time in New York ended because of the first line of the statement the Knicks released in response to his firing: «Our organization is singularly focused on winning a championship for our fans.»

That, sources around the league said, is why a change was made. The Knicks decided a new voice was needed to lift this franchise to the next level, despite Thibodeau leading the Knicks to their best stretch of play this century, including winning a playoff series in three consecutive seasons and advancing to the conference finals for the first time in a quarter century.

After making a pair of splashy moves to land Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns last summer, New York often