The New York Knicks have a new franchise head coach and he’s no stranger to the organization. Tom Thibodeau has signed a five year deal to become the head coach for the New York Knicks after rumors circulated that former Milwaukee Bucks and Brooklyn Nets Head Coach, Jason Kidd became the front runner for the vacant position on July 25th 2020. It is official. Now it may be possible that Tom Thibodeau runs the Knick offense through RJ Barrett. Will the former Maple Mamba’s basketball stock price rise drastically under ahead Coach Tom Thibodeau? Will the new coach run the offense through RJ Barrett?
Tom Thibodeau loves extremely competitive natured guys playing for him. We’ve seen certain players under Coach Thibs tutelage in the past who had that ultra-competitive characteristic, such as the Jimmy Butlers’ of the world along with Derrick Rose, Luol Deng, and even Joakim Noah.
Tom Thibodeau even had his imprint as a Knicks assistant during the Knicks 1999 NBA Championship push which also consisted of silent shooting assassin Allan Houston, scoring assassin Latrell Sprewell, Marcus Camby, Chris Childs, Larry Johnson, Charlie Ward, and Kurt Thomas just to name a few tough competitors. Every name I’ve just mentioned spent time under Tom Thibodeau and none of them backed down or feared anybody. Tom Thibodeau was under the tutelage of former Knick coach Jeff Van Gundy from 1996 until Jeff Van Gundy’s resignation in 2001. However, Thibodeau maintained his assistant position with the Knicks until 2004. The two have been in the trenches and have great respect for one another.
RJ Barrett fits that mold of toughness and grit. The former Duke Blue Devil doesn’t need a motor mentor, he’s already got it within and it shows on the court nightly. RJ Barrett proudly stated he’s built for New York City in an interview with ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith before he got drafted. Furthermore, if Tom Thibodeau can run an offense through former Chicago Bulls forward Luol Deng and get positive results, what will happen if he decides to do the same with Barrett in his prime in two years from now.
RJ’s basketball growth may even be sooner depending upon Barrett’s pace of improvement going into his second year in the league. No worries there due to RJ’s tenacious work ethic. Tom Thibodeau got the most out of Jimmy Butler as well. Jimmy Butler’s upside was even lower than Barrett’s upon entering the league as a late first round draft pick by the Chicago Bulls in the summer of 2011. RJ Barrett and Mitchell Robinson are the cornerstones that’ll benefit greatly under the Knicks new coach.
Overall, RJ Barrett’s potential compatibility with Tom Thibodeau looks very promising. The former Canadian star may not be the only one on the roster benefitting with Thibs being hired, however, the 20 year old seems like an obvious candidate for swift improvement under the tutelage of Coach Thibodeau who is basically a well prepared NBA coach on a nightly basis. Tom Thibodeau will have the New York Knicks representing the blue-collar city properly and competing on a nightly basis by any means necessary.