Knicks Head Coach Hints at 'Big Offseason'

The New York Knicks accomplished one of their primary 2024-25 goals by reaching the Eastern Conference Finals, but that hasn't earned them a summer vacation.

Head coach Tom Thibodeau certainly saw it that way after a 125-108 defeat at the hands of the Indiana Pacers in what became the sixth and final game of the ECF, hinting at busy downtime for Manhattan's finest in his postgame statements.

"You take a step back, I think decompress, you do a deep dive on the team, and then you analyze on what you need to improve upon," Thibodeau said in video from SNY. "We have the draft, and then we have free agency, and there's trades and then there's the internal development and then it's the study and preparation for next season. It's a big offseason for us."

"It's a big offseason for us."

Tom Thibodeau was asked what the next steps are for the Knicks after their season comes to an end: pic.twitter.com/j5T87y5iQe
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) June 1, 2025

The Knicks finally made it back to the NBA's final four after a quarter-century but, having fallen to the Pacers at full strength, speculation reigns on the team's future.

Having dealt most of their immediate selections away in the efforts to acquire Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns, the Knicks have only the 50th choice to work with the upcoming proceedings in Brooklyn later this month. The most notable free agents include Precious Achiuwa, Cameron Payne, Landry Shamet, and Delon Wright, all of whom filtered in and out of the rotation at various points this season.

But the Knicks have major decisions to make on their current core, especially before such dedications become more lasting and expensive. It would stand to reason that perhaps everyone expect captain and point guard Jalen Brunson carries some from of transactional vulnerability as the path to take another step forward continues.

While Thibodeau was "proud" of the way the Knicks progressed, he acknowledged that close evaluations could well begin immediately.

"You look at your team and I think you analyze what the strengths and weaknesses of the team are and then you're always thinking about improvement. How do we improve what we have?" Thibodeau said in video from SNY. "I think you always start with internal improvement. Of course, you have the order of the draft, free agency, and, of course, all the trade possibilities."

"[President Leon Rose] and his staff, there's a lot of talk that always goes on and they analyze whether something makes sense or can improve with our team. But we're not just going to do something to do something. It has to make sense and we have to feel it does improve the team."

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