Derrick Rose spent nine seasons with three different teams for Tom Thibodeau and recently broke the silence that his coach was fired by the New York Knicks.
After losing to the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals, the New York Knicks announced they had fired manager Tom Thibodeau.
The Tibbs led the Knicks for five seasons, and the 2024-25 campaign was the best season since 1999 when they played the NBA Finals before losing to the San Antonio Spurs.
The Knicks tried to interview Jason Kidd and several other active head coaches, but were denied by the teams hiring them. After a thorough search, the Knicks hired Mike Brown in what appears to be a lateral movement.
Derrick Rose spent nine seasons with the Knicks, Chicago Bulls and Minnesota Timberwolves with Tibodeau. He and the head coach are friends who were off the court, and appeared on NASCAR, explaining that Rose is doing very well after Thibodeau was fired.
Certainly, he had about $33 million left on his contract.
“I spoke to Tibbs and he’s fine,” Rose revealed.
“He’s fine. I don’t think you should be mad when you leave for $30 million.
“So I’m very sorry to him, but he’s fine. Yeah, that’s my guy. We were locked up at the end, but he’s good. Jalen is still in New York. He’s going to bowl.
The Knicks add free agents Jordan Clarkson and Gershon Yabsel, and hope to advance to the finals in the weak Eastern Conference in 27 years, as they are likely to run things on the same roster next season.
If someone is in a position to talk about how Thibodeau is dealing with his sudden unemployment, it will be a rose.
Tibbs wasn’t the first head coach Rose had, but he certainly had the most impact. When Bala gained the MVP, he was on the sidelines and refusing to rest the stars may have contributed to his injury, but there is no bad blood.
Thibodeau was there for Rose’s rise and descent, and he was the head coach when Rose scored a career-high 50 points in 2018 while playing for Wolves.
In 2021-22, nine years after Rose’s last All-Star appearance, he finished third in the sixth Man of the Year and ninth in the MVP race. Naturally, he finished that season with the Tiv Knicks.
While Rose enjoys retirement, Thibodeau also apparently makes things easier for now.