After reaching the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 25 seasons, the New York Knicks have fired Tom Thibodeau. “Thibs” took over the Knicks in 2020 and led the organization to four playoff berths over five seasons.
However, following a 125-108 Game 6 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Saturday, team president Leon Rose has decided to go in a different direction. Unfortunately for Alabama basketball fans, Nate Oats might be the perfect one.
Nate Oats could be a candidate in New York after Tom Thibodeau firing
In March of 2024, just before leading the Crimson Tide to the program’s first-ever Final Four, Oats signed a contract extension that ties him to the program through 2030 with a substantial buyout of $18 million across the first two years. It wouldn’t be easy to pry him away from Tuscaloosa, so Alabama fans shouldn’t panic, but Oats is an ideal candidate to make a jump to the NBA level, so his name will begin to circulate when big-time jobs come open. And it doesn’t get much bigger than New York.
Led by Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, the Knicks played a methodical style offensively and could never provide the tough defensive identity that Thibodeau has built his entire career on. Brunson and KAT are both offensive dynamos, but got exposed defensively, particularly in pick-and-roll coverage. Stout wing defenders like Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, and Josh Hart buoyed them against the Boston Celtics in the second round, but Indiana head coach Rick Carlisle devised a plan to torch New York’s superstars, and it earned his team a spot in the NBA Finals and Thibs his walking papers.
The Knicks will never be an elite defensive team as currently constructed, and Thibs will never be an elite offensive coach. So, they need an innovative offensive mind to unlock the roster on that end of the floor. Crucially, Oats has as blue-collar a mentality as any coach, so New York wouldn’t be sacrificing toughness by bringing him in to maximize its offensive firepower. Oats’s teams thrive in transition, play a deep bench, and move the ball quickly. After getting run off the court by the fast-paced Pacers, it could be a perfect marriage in “The Mecca.”
Throughout the playoffs, New York averaged 1.00 points per possession in transition, the second worst of any playoff team, only ahead of the Milwaukee Bucks. Their 19.8 assists per game were the third lowest. While Brunson is one of the league's best late-game closers, too often, New York fell into the trap of playing isolation basketball with their star point guard throughout the entire game. That wouldn't happen with Oats and his free-flowing offensive philosophy.
Oats’s 2024-25 team, for example, was 95th percentile in transition field goal attempts while shooting 57 percent, and that transition frequency ramped up to 99th percentile in the postseason (according to CBBanalytics.com). Alabama also posted a 55.4 percent assist percentage while leaning heavily on a ball-dominant guard in Mark Sears, who has drawn numerous comparisons to Brunson across his illustrious career in Tuscaloosa.
Oats trusts the analytics, and that’s resulted in his Crimson Tide finishing top five in KenPom adjusted offensive efficiency each of the past two seasons. If anyone can help the Knicks reach their potential on that end of the floor, it might be the man who has never coached in the NBA and has yet to reach the mountaintop in college basketball. Despite the potential fit, don’t expect a departure this offseason.
College head coaches rarely make the jump to the professional level, especially after big-name coaching icons like Rick Pitino and John Calipari did it and failed. There are success stories like Brad Stevens and Billy Donovan, but even if the Knicks do look to the collegiate ranks, UConn’s Dan Hurley should be the first to hear his phone ring.
Oats is staying put. His considerable buyout and lack of NBA experience almost guarantee that, but if Rose is doing his due diligence in this coaching search, Oats deserves a phone call, and if he continues to dominate in the SEC, the Knicks won’t be the last NBA team asking around his number.
The day may come when Alabama loses its star head coach to the professional level, but while the Knicks might be the perfect situation, it’s far from the perfect time.