National Basketball Association Betting
The New York Knicks have fired Tom Thibodeau as head coach. Leon Rose made the decision with the support of James Dolan.
Thibodeau’s job security was under question entering the playoffs, but the Knicks advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals where they were eliminated by the Indiana Pacers in six games.
Thibodeau was head coach of the Knicks for five seasons after he was hired ahead of the 2020-21 season.
“Our organization is singularly focused on winning a championship for our fans,” team president Leon Rose said in a statement. “This pursuit led us to the decision to inform Tom Thibodeau that we’ve decided to move in another direction. We can’t thank Tom enough for pouring his heart and soul into each and every day of being the New York Knicks head coach.
“… Ultimately, we made the decision we feel is best for our organization moving forward. Tom will always be part of our Knicks family and we truly wish him nothing but the best in the future.”
Thibodeau recently signed a contract extension with the Knicks and had at least $30 million remaining, reports Ian Begley.
Amongst their free agents, the Houston Rockets are prioritizing re-signing Steven Adams. Adams became a critical part of the Rockets’ success in extending their first round series against the Golden State Warriors to seven games. Adams’ offensive rebounding was particularly valuable for the Rockets and he and Alperen Sengun proved they could play together in double-big lineups. Adams had career highs in offensive and total rebound percentage last season. Jeff Green and Jae’Sean Tate will also be free agents.
Adams earned $12.6 million on his expiring contract and could be a center of interest to the San Antonio Spurs, New York Knicks, Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers. The Rockets believe Adams would like to return and will continue speaking with his agents about a new deal. Adams is represented by Darren Matsubara.
Brook Lopez could be a target should they be unable to agree to terms with Adams. The Rockets pursued Lopez during the 2023 offseason and were close to a deal before he re-signed with the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Phoenix Suns have been aggressive in their conversations with the Houston Rockets on a trade involving Kevin Durant. The Suns are attempting to regain control of their draft picks owned by the Rockets beginning with the No. 10 pick in the draft.
The Suns have gradually lowered their asking price for Durant. While there is a price that would make sense for the Rockets to add Durant to their otherwise young core, there is doubt about whether a deal will come to fruition.
Long-term interest in Devin Booker has cooled for the Rockets. Booker was long seen as a preferred target for the Rockets over Durant, but he is coming off a disappointing season and is on a long-term, expensive contract that he is expected to extend even further with the Suns this offseason.
Durant would likely require an extension upon his acquisition, but it would be for fewer seasons than Booker.
Johnnie Bryant and Jordan Ott have emerged as the two finalists for the Phoenix Suns’ head coaching job. Both candidates will meet with Mat Ishbia, Josh Bartelstein and Brian Gregory later this week. Devin Booker has also been involved in the search process over the past week.
The Suns are searching for a replacement for Mike Budenholzer, who was fired at the end of the season. The Suns will have their fourth head coach in four seasons since Ishbia assumed ownership of the team.
Both Bryant and Ott are currently assistant coaches with the Cleveland Cavaliers under Kenny Atkinson. Bryant was an assistant coach for the Utah Jazz from 2012 until 2020 before joining the New York Knicks in 2020. Ott previously was an assistant coach wit the Atlanta Hawks under Mike Budenohlzer before joining Atkinson with the Brooklyn Nets. Ott also was an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Lakers under Darvin Ham. Ott was a video coordinator under Tom Izzo at Michigan State from 2008 until 2013.
The Utah Jazz are hiring Austin Ainge as president of basketball operations. Ainge has worked for the Boston Celtics for the last 14 years.
Ainge’s father, Danny, is currently the CEO of basketball operations for the Jazz. Justin Zanik has had a large role running the team’s day-to-day operations as the team’s general manager.
Part of Ainge’s role with Boston has been to lead the team’s college and international scouting departments. Ainge is often credited with the Celtics ability to draft impact players late in the first round, as well as bringing in talent from overseas.
The Jazz have the fifth pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. They’ve been in a rebuilding mode for the last three seasons, after trading Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Minnesota Timberwolves respectively.
It’s still unknown if Giannis Antetokounmpo will ask for a trade from the Milwaukee Bucks. If he does, the Toronto Raptors might be one team that has interest in acquiring the superstar big man.
Antetokounmpo and the Raptors reportedly have mutual interest in each other. Toronto has the tradable salaries to put into a deal, while also retaining enough talent to be a contender after acquiring Antetokounmpo.
Antetokounmpo and Raptors president Masai Ujiri also have a longstanding relationship with each other. In addition, Toronto owns all of their own draft picks moving forward. That could allow them put several picks, plus pick swaps, into a trade for Antetokounmpo.
Antetokounmpo, who is represented by Alex Saratsis and Jeff Austin, cannot become a free agent until 2027. Antetokounmpo finished third in MVP voting this season after averaging 30.4 points, 11.9 rebounds and 6.5 assists.
