Leon Rose explains Knicks’ decision to fire Tom Thibodeau

When New York Knicks president of basketball operations Leon Rose decided to fire former head coach Tom Thibodeau last offseason, it was no doubt a roll of the dice.

>After all, Thibodeau played a big hand in the Knicks righting the ship in recent years and had led New York to back-to-back 50-win seasons and a trip to the Eastern Conference finals in 2025.

>Rose pulled the trigger on firing Thibodeau anyway and decided to replace him with Mike Brown — and the rest, as they say, is history.

>Rose, who doesn’t say much publicly, was a guest on the Roommates Show hosted by Knicks guards Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart and explained why the Knicks moved on from Thibs.

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>“It was tough. Thibs is a great coach. Did so much for the organization. We were right on the doorstep. Just felt that, just needed a change in voice, a change in philosophy,” Rose said.

>Rose revealed that the Knicks had a list of about five candidates before landing on Brown as their guy.

Leon Rose explains Mike Brown hireJun 13, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA; New York Knicks head coach Mike Brown speaks to the media after the Knicks defeat the San Antonio Spurs during game five of the 2026 NBA Finals at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn ImagesAs far as his reasoning for hiring Brown is concerned, Rose pointed to his “openness and his willingness to share ideas with the front office, his staff and the inclusion of everyone.”

>“He really was open to things, open to people’s suggestions, open to ideas. I believe that’s what led to some of the changes that were made throughout the season. We started out a certain way, he may have had an idea about how something was gonna work and how he wanted it to work, but he kind of evolved throughout the season, as did our team,” Rose added. “I think that all went into the fact that we went into another gear in the playoffs.”

>At first, it didn’t seem like there was much different about the transition from Thibodeau to Brown.

>Sure, there were small examples that showed the difference along the way, but the Knicks won just two more games under Brown in the regular season.

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>But the Knicks just hit a different level in the postseason and went on a historic run that saw the team rip off 13 straight wins before finally losing a game in the NBA Finals to the San Antonio Spurs.

>New York quickly turned things around after that loss and went on to win the next two games to close out the Spurs in five.

>How much credit Brown deserves for the Knicks’ incredible playoff run to their first title in 53 years is up for debate.

>What isn’t up for debate is how right Rose was to make the switch, and that decision is yet another shining example of how everything Rose has touched in New York has turned into gold.