LAS VEGAS — Phil Jackson got to fire one coach before he was gone. Same with Steve Mills.
Sean Marks’ lifetime gig in Brooklyn notwithstanding, most top executives don’t make it to a third hire.
In the NBA, or any professional sports league for that matter, there’s an order of blame that almost always goes like this:
- First, it’s the previous regime’s fault: “This was a real mess.”
- Second, it’s the media’s fault: “You guys don’t know anything and don’t understand patience.”
- Third, the coach is blamed: “We could be better.”
- Fourth, it falls on the front office: “Time to start over.”
In firing Tom Thibodeau, the Knicks took the leap over No. 3 quicker than we anticipated. There wasn’t a big public groundswell to can the coach, just as there wasn’t a big groundswell to hire Mike Brown.
