Report: Tom Thibodeau Finalizing Five-Year Deal With Knicks

Tom Thibodeau and the Knicks reportedly are finalizing a five-year deal that would make him the team's next head coach.

Tom Thibodeau and the Knicks are finalizing a five-year deal that would make him the team's next head coach, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

According to Wojnarowski, the two sides are working on the terms of the contract, and "a signed agreement is expected in the near future."

Thibodeau emerged as a top candidate for the Knicks head coaching job earlier this summer amid the franchise's search. New York fired coach David Fizdale in December 2019 and promoted assistant coach Mike Miller to interim head coach in his absence.

Thibodeau would return to the Knicks after working as an assistant under Jeff Van Gundy from 1996-2004. He re-joined Van Gundy with the Rockets starting in the 2004-05 season and was later hired by the Bulls ahead of the 2010-11 season, losing in the Eastern Conference finals during his first season. Thibodeau spent five seasons as the head coach of the Bulls before going to the Timberwolves. However, his two-plus seasons in Minnesota were rocky and he was fired in the middle of the 2018-19 campaign. He has not coached in the NBA since.

The Knicks were 21–45 when the NBA stopped play amid the coronavirus pandemic. The team was not invited to play in the NBA restart this month in Orlando.