New York Knicks are looking forward to the offseason after the end of disappointing regular season. The Knicks will return to the lottery after their great 2020-21 season run that found them in the Top-5 of the Eastern Conference.
Marc Berman of the New York Post reported the details of Thibodeau’s discontent Saturday after the team’s second-year coach lamented the outside criticism after Friday’s 111-103 road win over the Miami Heat.
The Knicks moved on from Walker after signing him to a two-year deal last offseason. Thibodeau removed Walker from rotation in December.
He returned to the lineup in mid-December as the Knicks dealt with a significant number of absences because of injuries and COVID-19 protocols.
Walker had some standout performances with his return, including a 44-point game vs Washington on Dec.23. His minutes once again began to fade as New York got closer to full strength.
As a result, Walker decided in February to sit out the rest of the 2021-22 season in agreement with the Knicks coaching staff and front office.
Thibodeau confirmed last week the four-time All-Star is away from the franchise while rehabbing a knee injury. Thibodeau was criticized for his decision to bench Walker, while, he’s insisted to not giving young players big minutes in his rotation.
“You guys are trying to nitpick this, nitpick that,’’ Thibodeau said. “You need everyone across the course of a season. It’s a team not an individual thing.
Can’t pick up a boxscore after and say, how many people are watching to the end of the game to really know exactly what happened in the game. I see a lot of opinions but I don’t see guys doing the work to actually study it.’’
The Knicks are expected to see a real turnover in their roster this offseason with the team out of playoff contention.
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