The NBA head coaching carousel is in full swing as teams continue to make changes ahead of next season.
One major move to make headlines on Tuesday was the New York Knicks decision to move on from head coach Tom Thibodeau after five years with the team.
In the same season the head coach led New York to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 25 years; he finds himself looking for a job after being relieved of his duties following a loss to the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night.
Obviously, as of now, the Washington Wizards have no need for a head coach with Brian Keefe in place to lead the team's rebuild for the foreseeable future.
Keefe was hired last offseason to be the team's full-time head coach after serving as the interim head coach to close out the season following the firing of Wes Unseld Jr.
Heading into the 2024-25 season, Keefe didn't have much expectations placed on him, which is good considering the Wizards 18-64 record this past year.
Although the Wizards have yet to make the decision to move on from Keefe, it's fair to wonder if the team has any plans on making a head coaching change themselves anytime in the near future, especially considering the current candidates that are on the open market.
That said, could Tom Thibodeau be in play for the Wizards if Keefe is let go in the coming months?
Tom Thibodeau in WAS? Let's examine
Tom Thibodeau's time in New York may have came to an end, but what he did for the Knicks organization won't be forgotten; even Knicks' fans will tell you that.
When Thibs was hired, the Knicks were in the dead middle of medicocricy. The team seemingly had no culture, the rich history wasn't being honored and the team was desperate for a reset and a head coach that could help them get back into contention.
Although Thibodeau didn't find a way to get the Knicks back to the NBA Finals, he without a doubt got the team back into the conversation within the East, making the playoffs in four of the head coaches five seasons in New York.
Sure, Thibs coaching philosophy has some concerns, and his decision to seemingly overplay his top players at times make it fair to wonder if he'd be a top coaching candidate for any team, especially the Wizards.
Despite that, the one thing Thibodeau-led teams did do successfully was being able to have his players buy in and play hard for 48 minutes on a nightly basis.
For a young team like the Wizards, a culture change of playing hard and buying in could be exactly what this organization needs moving forward.
However, a fit with Thibodeau seems highly unlikely for many reason.
To start, Thibodeau will almost certainly want to coach a team who's ability to contend is sooner rather than later. It's doubtful that a team in the beggining stages of a rebuild would interest the longtime head coach.
As for the Wizards, not only would a 67-year-old head coach like Thibs not fit the timeline of the team moving forward, but his coaching style doesn't exactly fit the personnel of Washington and their current roster.
In fact, if the Wizards do choose to move on from Keefe, it would make more sense for them to find a young basketball mind like Johnnie Bryant of the Cleveland Cavaliers, who's 39 and his coaching philosophy would likely fit today's NBA much more than a Thibodeau-led squad does.
All that to say: Tom Thibodeau in Washington is almost certainly not going to happen.