Knicks Nation Podcast
Tom Thibodeau's Extension + Summer News
What's going on, Nick's fans, we are back to one another podcast episode. This is podcast episode number 60. Tom Thibodeau has extended with the New York Knicks. Also got some assistant coaches that we can talk on Jericho Sims news and just talking nicks on this Sunday evening. Let's do it. ♪ They're playing basketball ♪ ♪ Basketball, basketball, basketball ♪ ♪ You're listening to the Nicks Nation Podcast ♪ ♪ Where we've got all your nicks needs covered ♪ ♪ What's up with Ray ♪ ♪ Bang, bang, he ties the game ♪ Now, live from the city that never sleeps. ♪ You're your hosts, Anthony and Chris ♪ ♪ Mmm ♪ ♪ What's going on, Nicks Nation ♪ ♪ I'm here joined by my co-hosts, as always ♪ ♪ Chris, we're back talking nicks on this Sunday evening ♪ ♪ Appreciate every single one of you joining here tonight ♪ ♪ Before we get started, if you're listening on the audio side ♪ ♪ If you would kindly just leave us a rating ♪ ♪ That'll be greatly appreciated over on that side ♪ ♪ It gives us, you know, helps us with the rankings regarding that ♪ ♪ But Chris, how are you? ♪ Doing good, man. Doing good. Happy to be back here talking New York Nicks. All things New York Nicks related. Has it been too much news? But, you know, we did get that little splash where Tom Thibodeau has been officially... Is it official, actually? Well, he's been extended by the New York Nicks as expected. How are you doing, Ann? I'm doing good. Yes, that Tom Thibodeau news came down a couple of days ago, that Tom Thibodeau has been extended for three more season. It goes in conjunction with the Jalen Brunson contract. So, Dave's is here until 2027, 2028. That'll take him. I found it interesting that the financials did not come out, but I'm sure that will be leaked with the next coming weeks or soon. But yeah, Chris, three more seasons of Tom Thibodeau. The New York Nicks are 175 and 143 since Tom Thibodeau arrived in 2021. And to put that in perspective, the last five New York Nicks coaches have combined record, combined record of 147 and 329. Going back to 2015. That's a lot of Ls, man. Yeah. That is... It's not good. A lot of Ls. It's not good. I mean, you've got to appreciate Tom Thibodeau, right? You've got to... I mean, if that doesn't... Like you said, put things into perspective, as far as Tom Thibodeau coached in the New York Nicks. I know he has a lot of haters. I know a lot of people don't like what he does, but he's come in here and he's changed the culture, man. You cannot deny that. And a 175, 143 record in comparison to the last five New York Nicks coaches. Oh, gosh. Come on, man. You've got to be excited about that. Locking down TIBs. You want me to go down the list? Yeah. Go down the list of what we've been going through, you know, many years prior in Tom Thibodeau. I'll start the 2015-2016 season with Derek Fisher. We went 40 and 96. Let's just go to one of these one by one. You remember Derek Fisher was hired. And it was supposed to be Steve Kerr, but it was supposed to be Steve Kerr, and then Kerr took the Warriors job, got the okay from Phil Jackson, and then Derek Fisher, who we thought was the next basketball genius. Yeah, it wasn't turned out to be. And the Nicks were heavily, heavily favored to get Steve Kerr at that, because Phil Jackson was heavily in his ear, and obviously they had those ties and whatnot. But, I mean, look, Steve Kerr made the right choice at the time, apparently. Yeah. So heading on after, obviously, Derek Fisher, I don't know if you remember this, he kind of got fit up with Phil Jackson and tried to do things his own way, coaches own way, and he ended up getting fired and in came Kurt Rambus in 2016, only coached a handful of games. He went 9 and 19. Kurt Rambus, another one of the Phil Jackson, you know, tree, if you want to say it. But, yeah, that was, I mean, there was a short stay for Kurt Rambus, but then after that, Chris was it was painful. But then after that, came Jeff Hornesack. Jeff Hornesack, from the 2017 season, coached to a record of 60 wins, 140 losses. And that was in between 2017 and 2018. So I actually like Jeff Hornesack. I felt like he got a raw deal, you know. Obviously, there was a lot of turmoil and lots of painful losses and whatnot, but I thought he was all right. 60 and 140. That's Jeff Hornesack's record. Wow. And then from there we go, David Fisdill, 2019 through 2020, record of 21 and 83. The guy who supposedly was gonna, you know, lower LeBron James over, right? Because they were so tight. I really don't have much to say about David Fisdill. I mean, that was, that was terrible. To say that. And of course, after that, there was Mike Miller, who coached to a record of 17 and 27 in 2020. And for what it's worth, he was, he was all right, you know, he was all right. Granted, that team was pretty bad, but he kind of got a raw deal, in my opinion. He did look, look, obviously, where I'm happy that Tom Thibodeau has extended with the New York Knicks. We were just going through the coaches prior just to, you know, kind of take it back to how bad it has been, you know, in prior years, and you know, us Knicks fans and Chris and I know this as well. I mean, it has been bad. So Tom Thibodeau came in here, no matter how you feel about him. I saw a lot of people on Twitter saying that they didn't agree with this, that he'll never take the Knicks to the promised land. A coach of Tom Thibodeau's style will never take the Knicks to the promised land. He overuses his players. But you can't, you know, what Tom Thibodeau has done is changed the culture here. Ever since he got hired, he changed the culture. Yes, that has to do with, you know, acquiring Jalen Brunson and, you know, Leon Rose and the coaching staff behind Tom Thibodeau, which we'll talk about, has to do with them as well. But Tom Thibodeau is leading the ship. So yeah, Tom Thibodeau's here for three more seasons. So I'm happy, Chris. I'm happy about that. Yeah, same, same here, man. Look, I've had my, I've had my moments where I was like firetibs. This guy's ridiculous. We can't continue this way. Get rid of him. But you can't deny the body of work as a whole. What he's, what he's come into when he first came into, you know, with the Knicks. And where were you at now? Yeah. And let's, and let's not forget Jalen Brunson made it known. Tibs is my coach. I'm not signing anything until Tibs is locked up, basically. So come on, that should speak volumes. You know, they obviously, they love Tibs, man. They love Tibs. So he has to be doing something right. Yes, indeed. And you know, we signed Tibs, but we have also lost, in our opinion, in my opinion, a major piece to the coaching staff and Johnny Bryant has gone to Cleveland. And now he is with Donovan Mitchell, him and Jonathan, Donovan Mitchell are extremely close. So incoming is Maurice Cheeks and assistant coach Maurice Cheeks, assistant coach Mark Bryant. Outgoing is Johnny Bryant. And I feel like, you know, I was texting about you, I was texting with you about this Chris last week, that this kind of like flew onto the radar. It didn't really fly another radar. But Johnny Bryant is, he means a lot to this, to this team, you know, this, to this coaching staff, you know, one thing about Johnny Bryant is he was always in Tom Tibedo's ear on the sideline. You know, you would always see him whispering to Tom Tibedo, whatever he was whispering, foul trouble situation on coaching substitutions. Maybe he was helping him out in regarding that. But I think Johnny Bryant is a major loss. And look, people are going to say he's a coach. So, you know, so what? But Chris, I mean, Johnny Bryant meant a lot to this organization. And I'm sure he's going to do well in Cleveland. But to me, it's just like the little things that Johnny Bryant brought to this organization. And, you know, I'm sure the Knicks can, can, you know, replace that and maybe Mark Bryant and Maurice Cheeks is the answer to that. But Johnny Bryant was, I feel like he still will be a head coach, eventually in this league. And, you know, Johnny Bryant sucks to see you go. But Chris, I mean, I don't know, maybe it's just me looking at the things, but we are really going to miss Johnny Bryant, in my opinion. Yeah, I think we are too. For the reasons that you mentioned, of course, he was always in Tibed's ears. He was always giving input. And he seemed to be really involved with the players, you know, you've you've heard him plenty of, you know, interviews with guys like Julius Randall, who he was he was saying, Hey, I was going through something. I went to go talk to Johnny, you know, we've got a lot of players that had that same kind of, it seems like they had a deep trust in Johnny Bryant. So, you know, also he was a young up and coming, you know, coach in this league. Somebody's going to take the risk on him. We thought it'd be us, you know, plenty times throughout the past few seasons. So, I agree with you, man, I think he's going to be missed. And he seems to be popular, especially with the younger players, you know. So, I kind of was hoping that New York Knicks would keep them. Because when we first started adding assisting coaches, that was our first thought, right? It was like, man, I hope this doesn't mean Johnny Bryant's out. And at first, it was like, nope, he's safe. He's staying with the Knicks. And then boom, we got the news. Johnny Bryant going to Cleveland, linking back up with Donovan Mitchell. But like you said, Maurice Cheeks, Mark Bryant, hopefully they can come together and kind of fill that void a little bit. But, you know, they are listed as assisting coaches, whereas Johnny Bryant was listed as an associate head coach, you know, on this Knicks squad. So, who knows, maybe they'll add another player to fill that title per se. But I think we are going to miss Johnny Bryant for sure. And it makes me wonder, though, it does make me wonder, was Johnny Bryant just there as a ways to get to Donovan Mitchell and make things look even more attractive for him at the time, you know? Part of me says no, but can't help but wonder now, now that he's back in Cleveland, you know, following Donovan Mitchell around. Yeah, I'm sure it's like a tactic by the New York Knicks. But, you know, whether that's the case, it turned out to be the turn it worked out great for the Knicks. Johnny Bryant, he's a, my opinion, he's one of the best minds in the in the game. And I'm sure he's going to do well in Cleveland. But coming in Chris is Maurice Cheeks and assistant coach Mark Bryant. Mark Bryant is a New Jersey native. Bryant played at Seton Hall before embarking on a 15 year MBA playing career with various teams. He then transitioned to coaching, accumulating 35 years of experience as both a player and coach. Renowned as one of the best big man coaches in the league. And I bring that up because we have a, you know, not an update, but we're still waiting on, you know, who's going to be our backup center, who's going to be our starting center? Maybe they replace Mr. Robinson. Who knows? Who knows? But Jericho Sims, Chris, I thought that was interesting. So Mark Bryant, obviously, he's dealing with, he's a big man specialist, right? And the Knicks have a big man in Jericho Sims who kind of need some coaching up a little bit. So do you think the Knicks are bringing in Mark Bryant to kind of help out at Jericho Sims or, you know, I thought that was a, you know, sneaky good hire. He was in Detroit. But what do you think about Mark Bryant coming in here and polishing Mr. Jericho? Yeah, but I mean, to be honest, I don't think he was brought in specifically for like Jericho Sims, man. But maybe somebody like Ariel, Ariel Hukporti, you know, a guy like that, you know, but the young guys in general, this guy is, you know, Mark Bryant, he seems to be like the big man whisperer in a sense. So he was, I think it was strategic to bring him in, especially considering right now we don't know who the backup big is going to be for the Knicks. Could be Jericho Sims, it could be a platoon with Hukporti, it could be, it could be precious still for all we know if we end up re-signing him. But, you know, I think that was a calculated move to get somebody in here that if we don't get a vet in to backup Mitchell Robinson, maybe it just becomes a platoon with Jericho Sims and Hukporti. Yeah, so, you know, I'm excited that Mark Bryant is here. And we also have this regarding Jericho Sims, Nick's view Jericho Sims as an emergency rotation player. That is from Fred Kads. I'm trying to get the full quote so you guys can. And so I can tell you guys are full quote. Okay, he says, it's not just 18 minutes behind Mitchell Robinson. It's also about acquiring insurance. The team views Jericho Sims as an emergency rotation player. That's from Fred Kads, highly respected, you know, reporter, and he covers the New York Knicks. And look, they view Jericho Sims as a replacement player. And that's pretty much what Jericho Sims has been since his time in, I mean, since he's been a New York, Nick, he's been a, you know, break glass in case of emergency rotational player. And look, maybe he can take a big, a big year three. Maybe we're just being too optimistic. Maybe come August 6th, like hit him up, says in the chat, what's going on, I hit him up. It's going to be some changes. August 6th. Sorry for y'all precious Tyler Collek, but he's a goner for Walker Kessler. That's what he says in the chat. What's going on, I hit him up. I'm hearing a lot of that, man. Yeah, so maybe that can transpire. But yeah, this is from Ken Fred Kads. It's more of what we thought, right? You know, can you really trust Jericho behind Mitchell Robinson? And it's more of insurance and Mitchell Robinson goes down. And we should expect Mitchell Robinson to go down, right? So yeah. I mean, it kind of sucks for Sims, right? Sucks for Sims to kind of have that. I can't even call that a role, you know, break glass in case of emergency type of player. But I mean, I guess it is a role, right? It sucks. But Sims, you know, clearly has a lot of work to do. You know, I guess it's a situational thing, right? Because we've seen Sims play against some backup bigs and he does fairly well. It's just when you have to put them up against a yokech or a bam out of aio or somebody like that, where that's where the trouble comes, right? So I get it. I get it. And we obviously need a backup big, somebody like precious at the least. But I think Jericho Sims still has a pretty good ceiling to get to, you know, he still has more more to develop. And he's shown some flashes, man. A big task. What's going on salute to you as well as appreciate you hopping in here. Meno, what's going on? Hulk porty is not better than scap and Seth. Chris, man, they love cat. They love your guy's scap, man. He's good, man. He's good. I think they should take a chance on them. I think they should. I mean, look, he got he got called up late. I think a few seasons ago did pretty well, you know, obviously it wasn't flashing his summer league numbers or anything like that. But you know, that guy has has some good touch, man. He has a good touch. It looks like he's starting to become a little better defensively. I've tracked them a little bit. I would love to see him out there, man, especially right now when we don't know who the backup big is going to be. Yeah, we don't. And look, obviously, rumors and news are starting to come out about, you know, obviously the Jericho Sims and precious is still not like Chris said, has still been unsigned with and that to me is an indication that some a trade might be on the horizon, something might be on the horizon because precious to me, in my opinion, you know, re-sign him. And then Nick's fan can go into the season saying, okay, you know, when Mitch Robinson to Mitch Robinson gets hurt, precious can step into that role, kind of this can kind of go small in certain situations. But I'm sure a lot of Nick's fans won't be too thrilled about that. But, you know, precious has shown us that he is very capable of playing with the guys, with the starters. And look, he came in January, February, and he played above his head, right? He played above expectation. We did not know what to expect of precious. And, you know, so that's that situation is still up in the air. Like we talked about last week, Chris, it's just a matter of what is going to happen come beginning of August. So we shall see it's interesting. Yeah, I mean, look, precious came in here. Look, he didn't look good at first. He was obviously lost. They didn't know the system. They didn't know the plays. It looked really bad. You know, you probably figured at that point, like, oh, man, he's never, he's never going to come off the bench ever again, especially with tips. But he worked his way back in, sparked us a couple times, you know, gave us meaningful minutes whenever he was out there. You know, I think you could do a lot worse than precious, you know, as far as getting a back a big at this point in time, you know, in the off season. So it wouldn't be the worst options. And then you saw, um, I don't know if any of anybody has seen, but there was a video floating out there of precious out there hitting threes. So he's out there working on his shot, you know, so many times we've seen him in that corner, corner spot, just breaking three after three. So, you know, maybe that's an improvement. He makes this off season. Who knows? The the typical summer videos of a player, players hitting threes and they're the second coming of MJ, like, oh, this guy's gonna do so well. Black ops videos, you know, black ops, yellow made famous. There we go. There we go. Hit somebody's comments. Appreciate every single one of you, one of you guys in here, um, this episode 60 of the next nation podcast, smash the thumbs up button. If you haven't, that's already subscribed to the channel, come join us here in the chat. CM says next can pull contracts, choice of McCulloch, Porty, Jericho Sims, Jeffrey's top in, um, trade exception for Rashaun Holmes, third center with a Chua, second. Many different, what's going on CMs, many different options, many different avenues where the next can go come, uh, August. Ryan Chandler says clickbait regarding the, I think he was talking about the Jericho Sims thing. Yeah. Um, come out of nowhere. Yeah. Lewis, what's going on, guys, you know, something about rumor about Looney, a Chua swap. That's interesting. Looney, and a Chua. I haven't heard anything per se recently about that. It was floating around earlier, but I don't think there was any legs to it, in my opinion. Yeah. So look, I think Julius Randall is eligible for an extension, uh, August third, if I'm not mistaken. He can sign up to 181 million over four years. So that situation is still up in the air. I'm not sure that get done. That gets done. So who knows? It could get done. They could agree on an extension in these next, in this next week, but I doubt it. Um, Meno says, bro, Harnstein put us in a bad place. I know the money doesn't last forever, but had he stuck it out, he would have gotten a bigger bag. That's Meno B. And in the chat and yeah, yeah, I guess we can go from, I guess we can transition now to the players and to the players out. So players in for the New York next this season. Daddy a rookie, Tyler Collek, rookie, Ario Huk, Porti rookie, Kevin McCullough, Jr, rookie, McCall bridges. Um, Kieta Bates, the up. Oh, I mean, wait, is he, is he still a Nick? I believe so. Yeah. He was part of the McCall trade, I believe. And then camping. So obviously Chris regarding those players, and it's cream at the top, McCall bridge. Yes. Yeah. Still can't believe he's a Nick, man. I know. Right. I know. I can't believe he's a Nick. And then the players out. Precious a Chua still unsigned. You have his bird rights. Shake Milton, Alec Birx, Mamadi, Diaki Diakite, Boyon Bogdanovich, Isaiah Harnstein. So my question to you and those in the chat, Will the gain of McCall bridges outweigh the loss of Isaiah Harnstein? I guess Chris, will the gain of McCall bridges outweigh the loss of Isaiah Harnstein? Part of me says yes. I'm leaning mostly towards yes, simply because again, I feel like a broken record when I say this, but having old Jan and Nobi and McCall bridges, at least offensively. No, I mean, offensively too. Because look, I heart obviously came on strong offensively late in the season. You know, he got that push floater going, obviously offensive boards and whatnot. I feel like with McCall bridges, Oh, Jan and Nobi just out there on the wings, it's just going to be. It's going to be chaos, man. We're going to have such a great defensive scheme, in my opinion, even without Isaiah Harnstein that I think will make up for it. And and offensively, we got McCall bridges, who learned how learned what it was like to be the number one option. And will most likely be what the third option on this team? Maybe fourth, maybe even fourth. So I think, you know, that's a scoring punch right there just waiting to be unlocked when needed, you know, whenever Julius or JB doesn't have it going, you have McCall bridges, you got Oh, Jan and Nobi, you got Dante, the Vincenzo who took a leap last, you know, this past season. I think we're good. All that we're missing, in my opinion, is the size of a five. Yeah, obviously the correct answer, in my opinion, is is heck yes. And those of you in the chat says absolutely. John says hell yeah. Big task is no, we need those rebounds that I heart was providing for us. So yeah, so that's what I was torn on, basically, is when it comes to just size, you know, yeah, and grabbing a board. Yes, obviously the gain of McCall bridges outweighs the loss of Isaiah Harnstein. But guys, Isaiah Harnstein, uh, met a lot to this team, which is why when he left, I was, I was pissed off, man. I was, I was upset. I'm like, a lot of you. I was like, he chose money and look, look, he's set for life. I'm happy for him and his new family. Just had a baby. Congratulations. Hope you do well in. Okay, see, but guys, Isaiah Harnstein was a playmaker for us. Yeah, he was a great rebounder for us. His chemistry with Brunson was awesome. His chemistry with Randall was awesome. And offensively, he provided a lot, not a lot, but he was not a threat, but he could make shots. Like he, he's no slouch on offense. So I think the loss is going to be, I'm not just going to say that, no, heck no, like McCall bridges is going to like outweigh the loss of Harnstein, like no doubt, like, there's going to be times during, if this is, as of right now, July 28th, as a roster stands, with Mitchell Robinson and kind of nobody behind him. I feel like it's going to be times, or in the season where, you know, Harnstein is going to be missed and we're going to see the absence of Harnstein, but somebody in the chat said, um, you lose Isaiah Harnstein, this was John, you lose Harnstein, but you're getting Randall, Mitch and bridges. So I think offensively, obviously will be amazing. We'll be fine, but, you know, that center position, what Harnstein brought, we're going to miss it. But now we just have to go into a season and hope for a healthy Mitch Robinson, hope for a year where Mitch Robinson, you know, continues to improve offensively, because we know it can't bring defensively. So we just have to hope for that. Yeah, as of right now, you know, this could change in two weeks, if the next is time to go another direction in terms of the center position, but we'll miss Harnstein for sure. I feel like there will, we will miss him, but the addition of McElbridge is offensively. I just think we'll be lights up. Yeah, I think so too. I think I think we'll be all right. Look, there's no denying when it comes to iHeart. I feel like the number one thing I'm going to miss from him is passing, you know, for a big his passing is amazing. Yeah, and obviously the toughness being able to get the offensive rebounds and whatnot. But John, John made a good point. Julius, you know, Julius is back. He's somebody who can get you nine, eight rebounds a game, you know, and who knows what his role is going to be. Maybe he's more active on that on that end. If, like you said, the roster stays the way it is, maybe the next kind of goal, small ball and Julius is there, you know, focusing more on getting boards and maybe not so much on the offensive end. But, you know, who knows who knows what will happen. But I feel a lot better if the Knicks go out there and get a veteran back a big, you know, someone who's at least seven foot, just kind of throw a body out there at the least. Yeah, likewise. And I'm sure everyone else would let's see what you guys are saying here in the chat. Mendel says Hartenstein was a key piece to our offense. To be honest, Keith says we needed Hartenstein last year because of injuries. His skill set will be much less necessary this year with more offensive players and health. Yes. Um, CM says, why do we wait so long to complete the Michaela trade? Everyone signed for the minimum in the meantime, they were trying to find ways to stay under the tax, right, Chris? That's why they waited so long for that. And I believe they didn't want to get hard capped. And then, you know, they worked out a couple more pieces with the Nets. And that's where Kita Bates, the op came into the picture. And I believe we sent out a mama, mama di diake as well. Kind of just to make the money work and, you know, keep the Knicks from being hard capped. John says still have Mitch for rebounds. Big task is those rebounds are very important to our playing style. Yeah, agree. And Keith says he means a lot, but only because of the injuries. And then he says he won't be as Mitch as y'all think. Last year, Arnstein was Ironman played 80. I think he played 82 games last year, 81 or 82 games, something like that. So he played the most games for the Knicks last year. And the thing that has hurt the Knicks has been injuries. So hard sign has been, you know, a big part of our success, just saying those of you that just joined with a game of McElbridge is outweigh the loss of Harnstein. A lot of people are saying no. So no, a lot of people are saying that McElbridge is ultimately our offense will be, you know, like so. But I think personally, Harnstein will be missed, you know, but we shall see at the end of the day. I think he will be. I mean, look, it's obvious. Yes, Mitch got hurt. I hard stepped in played great and eventually supplanted Mitch as the starting center on the snake squat, you know, you can't you can't downplay that man. You can't downplay that, especially when it's Mitch, right? You know, he was having an all all NBA defensive NBA type of season before he got hurt, you know, on the defensive side, he was a menace. I hard steps in. And we don't miss a beat. We don't miss a beat. And not only that, we start running place through I heart often starts rolling through him, something you can't really do with Mitch. I think it's a huge, you know, it's a huge loss. But you can't blame my heart, right? He took the money. You know, he's he's had that nagging Achilles injury. He probably, you know, that's probably a reason why another reason why he didn't go for the next offer is probably like, Hey, I need some. I can't say no to this big contract. Okay, so he's throwing at me secure my future, secure my kid's future. You know, my Achilles could blow, you know, tomorrow. And then I'm stuck with a lesser contract with the Knicks. Could have been something like that, you know, that just he couldn't say no to. So it sucks. It did put us in a in a tight spot as far as a backup big goes now. But I still feel we have a few more moves to make. Likewise, Jabroni says Hartenstein played 75 games. I knew it wasn't 80. I think he played the most games on the on the New York next last season, because I remember having a trivia question that no, 75 games this past season 82 games in 2022, 2023. So I was correct. But yeah, 75 games this year and missed a few games with his Achilles injuries. So. Yeah, so the addition of McElbridge is in my opinion. Well, look, it's like 28 things can't get done in the next couple of weeks. Press is two or still out there. There has to be a reason as to why this guy isn't signed yet. So we just shall see, shall see regarding that. All right, Chris, you want to get to this Shaquille O'Neal reaction video. You want to get to it now? Let's do it. Let's do it. All right, here is Shaquille O'Neal saying that he thinks the New York Knicks are not close to winning an NBA championship. Bridges got picked up. Is that enough to get New York in the conversation that they can take the East, the Villanova. Listen, no, you just said you're not you don't believe the Villanova team can win it. You know, this New York is a place that's built on hype that controls the hype. They can hype everybody else up. They haven't won, but oh, New York, New York. So young fella can play. I was wrong about him. He's impressed with them. They're nowhere close to win the championship. They're going to win some games and do this, but I'm more impressed with at the end of your career have many championships you want. New York Knicks are nowhere close to winning a championship. That is the words from former great Shaquille O'Neal. Chris, what is your reaction? I don't get it. I don't get it. How could you I mean, maybe we're just all crazy, right? Maybe we're just all crazy. I mean, Shaquille obviously has rings on rings on rings and whatnot. But it's kind of confusing to me, man. I mean, we literally just went through a season where I won't say easily, but look, we could have easily have gone to the Eastern Conference Finals, right? We could have been there, but our entire team basically dropped dead like flies, you know, injury after injury after injury. And even with those injuries, we were still able to make a deep run, you know. So adding Michael Bridge is losing iHeart. Really, if you want to go through the key pieces, you know, we got a lot of guys that are now going to be healthy and hopefully stay healthy. Yeah, we're going to have our bench back. You know, players like Josh Hardante, even Chenzo possibly being back on the bench. I don't see how how do we how would we not at the least get to the Eastern Conference Finals? How are we not competing? How are we not close? Yeah, to look, I don't get it. For Shaq to say we're not close, I just think that's that's that's crazy talk, honestly. We have no truth. It's Randall. Yeah, so look, it's getting reaction out of us. And that's why a lot of people that look, the TNT crew, I think this year coming up is their last season doing that show. And that's why a lot of next friends are probably like, maybe not though. Maybe not. They could working on matching that contract. No, I think I think it's officially the NBA took Amazon. Like the NBA took Amazon and they denied TNT's offer. So now TNT, I think next season is their last season. Of course, they're going to core, man. Yeah. Of course, ESPN can pick up the crew. Amazon can pick up the crew. But look, during the playoffs, they just were, in my opinion, they were much haters, man. They just not all like Shaq and Charles Barkley were the two that were getting on my nerves pre and post weren't giving us credit. They just kept picking against us and whatever. But that's where a lot of next friends are like, I'm good regarding that show. But Yeah, we got a win now. Yeah, it has to happen because they need to. I want to see their reaction reactions before they get a can, man. We got a win now. Jabroni says Shaq is a Jersey guy who always hates New York. A lot of people feel like little brothers in New York and they have insecurities because they feel inferior. Trust up in New York native who lives in Jersey. And then John says, what you said, Chris, I love it because when the next proven them wrong, they look dumb. Yeah. So yeah. Exactly. Look, that show has been entertainment. And if you're like a true basketball person and want to really get analysis on such game, I feel like that show has kind of led to the casual basketball fans, you know, the guys who catch a game here and there, let me just turn on TNT and let me let me laugh because they're funny, you know, Shaq falling on the floor, Charles Barkley doing his shenanigans, Kenny and Shaq racing to the wall. Like, I just feel like that's the entertainment side of it. But when it comes to actually analysis, I just think like what we've heard from them regarding their opinions on the New York Knicks over this, especially this past season, it just hasn't made any sense. And maybe it's trying to get a reaction out of us. Maybe because the Knicks fan base is so large that they like the engagement. But I don't know. I think it's a big let down because I used to watch these guys, you know, the TNT crew, literally, I grew up watching them, basically. You know, and I always, I always thought, all right, hey, they don't talk about the Knicks much. We were terrible. I mean, we ran through the past five Knicks coaches and that record speaks for itself. So they always had the jokes, right? But you'd figure when it come time and the Knicks were a good team and they were going the right path, they were competing, they'll change their tune and give them the props that they deserve, right? I mean, I get it. We're not winning championships or anything like that yet. So, you know, I get the people that are like, Hey, slow your role. But at the same time, it's like, don't just try to play us like, you know, we're not making moves like we're not inching closer to that ultimate goal, right? I mean, that's what bothers me the most. They're just downright like, you saw in that video, like he did not even wait for the question to be finished. He's like, no, no way. They're not competing. Hater. They're a big team. So, you know, it's mind boggling, man. And it kind of sucks. It's a letdown, man. You'd figure these guys would it's like, it's like a grudge. It's like a grudge. They're holding for whatever reason, you know, Yeah, exactly. Meno says they'd have to work for Amazon if they're staying, jabroni inside the NBA is for people who don't actually watch basketball, have something to talk about at the water cooler at work. Exactly. And it's just it's like, it's, and look, maybe this is the way the NBA world is kind of going because we have the Stephen A. Smith side of it, who's it's just entertainment, you know, and it entertains people, the hot takes. But, you know, I get it at the end of the day, but it's things. I guess that's why, you know, we have YouTube and, you know, us next content creators and we just come on here, you know, those who are actually passionate about the New York Knicks and just talk, you know, basketball, you know, so appreciate every single one of you in here. But this is from Fred Katz to this was, I think this was the last week. I have absolutely no indication that the Knicks are trying to trade Julius Randall once again, Julius Randall is eligible for an extension in the beginning of August. It's no indication that he is going to sign an extension with the New York Knicks, haven't heard anything regarding that it is close. So just giving you guys as much news as possible. So this is the news regarding that. He has no indication that the Knicks are trying to trade Julius Randall. And we spoke about this last podcast episode, Chris, next don't extend Julius Randall, he's going into essentially his last deal, deal year, excuse me, of his contract, because he has a player option that he can deny and become an unrestricted free agent next season. But, you know, I don't think anything is going to get done. I think because I think the deadline will be in October from now mistaken. So I don't think anything is going to get done. I think the Knicks want to try to see if if Randall has to prove that he's healthy number one. Yeah. So and we've talked about how Julius Randall means a lot to this team. So exactly. Yeah. And in every interview he's been on, he's basically echoed that sentiment that there's unfinished business here and how much you wish he was a part of the run, you know, this past season. So I think I think they're both Julius's camp and then obviously the New York Knicks for an office, I think they're both in lockstep in the sense where maybe they're just like, Hey, let's see how it goes. You know, you prove to us that you're healthy, you prove to us that, you know, you can still be the player we know you are or can be I should say. And Julius is like, Hey, I'm going to show you guys my shoulders good. You know, obviously he's been rehabbing. And if and if he goes out there and shows the Knicks early that he's looking like the Julius Randall, they know who's to say an extension won't follow that. Right. So I think it's kind of just both sides waiting and seeing how things look. Exactly. So regarding an extension, we just have to wait and see a sore comment in here earlier regarding somebody asking if we thought Tom Thibodeau was the coach to bring us to the promised land. David, there we go. Thibs never coached the team to the NBA finals. David asks, is Thibs the right coach to get the Knicks to the next level? Appreciate the comment, David, we kind of spoke about it earlier in the pod. If you're just joining us, we spoke about Tom Thibodeau in the New York Knicks, reaching an extension that'll take them all the way to 2028. It goes in junction with the Jalen Brunson extension. So those two are essentially tied to the hip. But I truly believe Dave's can't take us to the promised land. I truly believe that. And now when you look at our team, going up against Boston, going up against Milwaukee, going up against Philly, you know, we handled Philly last year. And the cream at the top is Boston. What the Knicks do, they get, they acquire Michael Bridges, they kind of make it an easier coaching job for Tom Thibodeau putting Dante on the bench, putting Josh Hart on the bench, Deuce McBride on the bench and whoever the Knicks decide to back up Mitchell Robinson and Sprinkle in the rookies here and there. I'm not saying that's a rotation, but I do. I truly believe that truly believe when it's all said and done, if we were to ever get to an NBA finals, hopefully it's this season, please. That would be nice. I would love that, right? Wouldn't you love that? That'd be amazing. Yeah, I think he can. I think he can. And I get the hate that comes with Thibs. I get it. Do I agree with it? No, but I get it. Would you, would you say that this is the best team Tom Thibodeau has coached and this is going back to Derek Rose Bulls? Yes. You do? Yes. Yeah. I have a team to compare this team to, going back to his Bulls days. I do. I truly do. During his time in, even his time in Minnesota, he had a pretty good team with town Butler, but I truly do think this is will be Tom Thibodeau's best team that he's ever coached. Yeah. I mean, look, he did take the Bulls to the Eastern Conference Finals, obviously, that that was a good team as well. But again, I echo back to this past season, you know, with, I guess you can argue maybe a little bit of a lesser team, considering Julius Randall was not a part of the run and guys were getting hurt left and right. You know, we could easily have been in that in the Eastern Conference Finals. Yeah. So now you talk about adding on the kill bridges. Obviously, yes, we lost I heart. But, you know, if you asked me a couple seasons ago, do I think Tom Thibodeau is the guy? I would have told you he's the guy to change the culture, but he's not going to be the guy here when we win the chip. But honestly, the way that we have built this team, they're, they're all tips guys. Yeah. There's probably no other coach I'd want to be coaching this team than tips, because they all will just fit in perfectly with the way he likes to coach. And everybody's bought in. And that's what what you want from a coach. We want a coach to come in and change the culture and have them buy into your system. And these guys seem to love tips for whatever reason, you know, I'll say it again. He has to be doing something right when you got your superstar, Jalen Brunson, basically saying, don't come to me with an extension talks. Don't come to me with a new contract or anything until you take care of tips. So. Exactly. That's the key. Everyone's bought into him. They surround the tabs with players that, you know, are not going to complain about practice and are going to complain about this and that, that just want to play ball. We don't have any divas on the New York Knicks. We don't have anyone complaining, you know, that's, that's not who we are. And that has to be with the culture. So, yes. Um, but yeah, I agree with you. And in terms of member last year, I said, I think dibs, I thought Johnny Bryant would take over for dibs and tips will go into the front office position. Yeah. But we had such a good year this year where I feel like things change. And my attitude towards tips has changed as well. So. Yeah. And not only that, you know, tips, tips has been on the record. And, you know, even before he got the New York job, right? He was saying this is my dream job. I've always wanted this job. So again, to have a coach who actually wants to be here, who came here when we were God awful, you know, has gone through what he has gone through and still has a win record at this point in time. You know, look, they're all invested. They're all invested. They all want to win. And what more can you ask for from a coach on a team, right? They, they all are unified in this one goal to win a championship. And that's ultimately what we want. So I'll take it, man. Yes, sir. Hope that answered your question. All right. So let's get into some, you know, Nick's news, what's going on around the New York Knicks. Obviously, it's summertime, not really much going on regarding, you know, the players, you have Michael Burgess switching back to number 25. Sorry for the ones that bought number one jerseys already. He says, I saw a couple of tweets on Twitter at next nation on Twitter, by the way, and Chris, your Twitter is at I guess we can get four to two one at CPR four to one. So there that's Chris's Twitter. That's Chris's Twitter. And obviously at next nation, at next station on Instagram as well. But yeah, Chris, Michael Burgess back to number 25. I saw a couple of tweets about some, some, some fans bought number one jerseys. And I was like, that sucks, man. But hey, going back to the Villanova days and the Phoenix Sun days, that sucks. I'm happy I didn't jump to jump to, you know, on that wagon and just get a number one, Michael Bridges Jersey. Will you buy a number 25, Bridges Jersey? I still got to get my OGN. And there's a lot of I was, I was waiting for the OG. I still want to get a Josh Hart Jersey OGN and Obie. I waited to make sure he resigned, had me nervous for a second, but yeah, I might get the whole whole damn roster at this point. Do you know the net the last Nick to wear number 25? Do you know off the top of your head? Was it Derek Rose? Derek Rose is, it was in 2017. And then I think he switched his number when he came back, didn't he? I think he switched his number again. But it is not Derek Rose. But he did have it, right? He did have it. When he first got here, he did have it. It was Mamba D, Diacite. And then prior to that was Reggie Bullock, 2020, 2021. Now, man, if I got that, I'm the goat. I would have never guessed that. Yeah, but Derek Rose in 2017 was number 25. And before Derek Rose was Timothy Moscow. Oh, man, that's way back. Yeah. So yeah, I think I'm going to get an OG Jersey. There's a lot of Jersey. I want to get heart. Yeah. OG. Even even a Divent Shenzo Jersey. Yeah. Divent Shenzo. Yeah, exactly. And Jalen Bronson was at the New York Yankees and Metz game this past week. And I think the Yankees got slaughtered in that game. I guess what by the majority swapped up the wrong team, man. What can I say? Chris is the Met fan. Yeah, baby. Let's go. Let's go, Metz. So JB. And I think in one of the videos that one of the reporters put out, he was saying that he was going like I see listened to Jalen Bronson. And I think it was Francisco Lindor is they were having a conversation. You can hear Bronson sort of telling him that he's dealing with doctors appointments with his wrist with his hand. And he's good to go pretty much regarding his injury. So that's some good news in regarding that. And we also see some Josh Hart pictures online that he's on vacation. Look, the guys are on vacation having fun and whatnot at summertime. Not really much going on, but it's just fun to see the guys out there. And Bridges was on the podcast with Paul George. Did you catch some of that? Yeah, I think I did catch some of that. I thought that was pretty and pretty interesting. When Mellow said that he wouldn't have taken the. Yeah, I mean, that's just classic Mellow, but it kind of like, you know, he obviously, he was talking about Jalen Bronson taking the crazy extension and his eyes that, you know, giving up over 100 mil or not. And Mellow was like, I wouldn't do it no way. I wouldn't leave no money on the table. Yeah, which, you know, kind of confirms, you know, things in the past when it was like, you know, did Mellow want to win or did Mellow want his money, you know, like, did he want to sacrifice some money to win? Yeah, I guess not. Yeah, but he didn't mention, you know, it was it was different back then. It was it was way different back then, obviously, you know, they didn't make a lot of money, but not the type of money they're making nowadays. So I thought that was hilarious, though. Mellow was like, I never do it. Never. Yeah, he said, I'm not doing it. Those of you that don't know what we're talking about, Chris just laid it out. We're talking about Carmelo Anthony and McElbridge's were on Paul George's podcast. If you haven't checked it out, I think it's a podcast P or something like that. And they were talking about the Brunson extension. They were bantering with McElbridge's and Mellow said, he said, I'm not doing it. But if you listen to the podcast, he kind of, I think it was kind of taken out of context because he kind of explained why Jalen Brunson did that. And he explained, you know, something else has to be coming that, you know, on the back end, he can make that money up. So it's not like Mellow was just like, no, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not never doing that. But I kind of think that was kind of taken out of context a little bit. But but yeah, Mellow taking less money. Yeah, we knew that that was definitely something to clip. You know, of course, with the, there's always the, you know, the history with Mellow and what people thought about him and whatnot. But I mean, let's be real, if Mellow did take take a pick up back in the day, who knows what type of roster would have been thrown out there for him anyway, because I think his second contract, he did take a little, he did, he did. If I'm not mistaken, it became almost nothing. Yeah, for the team. So that's what I say to, you know, that's, that's why back then it was just different, you know, obviously different rules, different ZBA and whatnot. So but, you know, it is what is. Yeah, so that was a, McCall Bridges was also saying that, you know, it's going to be electric to play in New York. And he's excited to play with, not just his Villanova guys, he was making an apparent that he is excited to play with O'Jinn and will be excited to play with Randall and so on and so forth. What I was just, I was just thinking about that podcast and they were just trying to get McCall Bridges to like say anything about like, you know, the nets and, you know, Mellow like, welcome, welcome to New York, welcome to the A team, basically. And, um, Bridges looked a little bit uncomfortable at times. I just put it that way. He did that time somewhat, but it was pretty cool. Um, ready for some trivia? We haven't done trivia in a couple of, what's going on, Chris? We haven't done trivia in like three, the last three podcast episodes. We got to do trivia back, but we got to get back to it. The people want it. The people want trivia. They love trivia. Let's do it. Let's go to the trivia. All right. All right. And here we go. Since 1983, who is the longest tenor New York Knicks ad coach? Is it a, you'll be Brown, B, Pat Riley, C, Tom Thibodeau, or D, Jeff Van Gundy. Chris laying out the trick questions again, you know, Tom Thibodeau obviously signed his extension last week. But I do not think he is the longest Nick tenured head coach. Hubie Brown, Pat Riley, Tom Thibodeau, or D, Jeff Van Gundy. Those of you in the chat, if you want to chime in, if you want to give your guesses, you're more than welcome to do so. Tom Thibodeau has been here for quite some time, but what was it? 2019, 2020. That's why we signed Thibodeau. This has been here for a while. Four, forty, forty seasons? Is that a while? I don't know. I don't think that's a while. Pat Riley. I don't think it's Pat Riley. Hubie Brown. I'll be lying to you if I know how long Hubie Brown coached the Knicks, but I don't think it was that long. So I'm haggling between Thibodeau and Van Gundy because I know Van Gundy was here for quite some time. Not a long time, but quite some time. And now Van Gundy is, I don't know where he went from ESPN to Boston to, I think he's in the clip with the Clippers organization, right? I thought he was still consulting the Celtics, but you could be right, actually. Yeah, I think he went to the Clippers. All right, enough of me trying to figure this out. I am going with... It will be Tom Thibodeau. I'll tell you that. It will be, but it is not. I'm going with DJ Van Gundy, final answer. DJ Van Gundy, final answer? Final answer. And I did not look in the chat, Chris. I promise you that. I did not look in the chat. It's to my right. And we have a lot of guesses. The chat is also saying, we got, we got John, we got Keith saying, we got Meno saying, D, Jeff Van Gundy, and that is correct. It is Jeff Van Gundy, who coached from '96 to 2002. So the New York Knicks. Let's go. Six seasons? Yeah, followed by, I believe he'll be round, coached '83 to '87, Pat Riley, coached from '92 to '95. And obviously, Tom Thibodeau from, what was it? 2021 to present time. So eventually, it will be tips. But Jeff knows nowadays, man. I hope so. I mean, hey, we wanted Jeff Van Gundy to take over for tips back in the day too. Yeah, we did. So I am now three and three. Chris is four and two. He is winning the trivia round. I get a chance to stomp Chris next podcast episode. So yeah, Jeff Van Gundy, final answer. Appreciate every single one of you chiming in the chat. Most of you got it right. You know, so, that's pretty cool. Yeah, Mendel says he'll be brown only coached them for like five years. David says Van Gundy got the next to the NBA finals in '99, a number eight seed. David Smith. Yeah. Jeff Van Gundy. Van Gundy was the truth, man. He was players. Yeah, they were. Anything else we didn't cover on Chris, we covered pretty much. I mean, not really much to cover on, pretty much what we wanted to cover on Johnny Bryant stuff. And the extension talk. So not really. Fortunately, there hasn't been much news ever really, you know, we're all waiting to see who the hell the backup big is going to be from New York next, whether we go out and we make a trade, whether it's, you know, precious, whether it's Scott Patev, who knows. But yeah, no, I mean, pretty much we, you know, did a little bit of a recap of the news past week or so. So as always, if anything breaks, anything comes down, you know, we'll let you guys know. Yes, we will be on here as soon as something breaks. So we got the dibs extension out the way. Job ain't finished though. This has been fun. Got a lot out the way. Like Chris said, as soon as something breaks, we will be back. If you're just listening to us on the audio side, like I said, early on the episode, please leave us a review a rating on Apple and Spotify. Those of you on YouTube, you can also hop over to the audio side as well. Really helps us out regarding that. We have a discord that you guys can join the link is in the description. I'm in there, Chris is in there. Obviously, it's summertime, not really much going on, but it's fun. We post memes, we post pictures, we banter about the New York Knicks, especially during the games. It's fun. And then @NixNation, Chris's Twitter is @CAPR41. Somebody come up with a better name for me. And then on Instagram, it's @NixNation as well. This was fun. We'll be back. We'll be back, hopefully with news on a backup big for the New York Knicks or who knows, maybe a trade. Hey, maybe a trade. This has been episode 60 in the books. As always, it is, let's go next. Appreciate every single one of you for giving us your time. Time is very valuable. So Sunday night on July's coming to an end, which is kind of crazy. August next month. Time is flying. Time is flying. All righty. I'm Anthony from NixNation. That is, I am Chris. We'll catch you guys next time. Peace. Peace. Thanks for listening. Please hit that follow button to stay updated with our latest episodes. And we also greatly appreciate those five-star reviews. For you video enthusiasts out there, head over to our YouTube channel to catch the podcast in video form, youtube.com/NixNation. You'll find all the relevant links conveniently listed in the show notes below. See you next time. [Music]