Tom Thibodeau Reportedly Has Support from Jalen Brunson, Leon Rose After Knicks Loss

New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau maintains the support of two important voices within the organization as it sifts through the fallout of an Eastern Conference Finals exit.

The Athletic's James L. Edwards III and Fred Katz reported Thibodeau "has the backing of team president Leon Rose" and "full buy-in" from star guard Jalen Brunson.

Still, Edwards and Katz cautioned that team governor James Dolan will make the final determination about the coaching situation.

During his postgame press conference, Brunson was asked about Thibodeau and responded affirmatively about whether Thibs is still "the right guy." The interaction begins at the 11-minute mark:

It's tough to attribute the Knicks' series loss to anything Thibodeau specifically did wrong.

Unlike last season, New York had the full complement of its best players, so there wasn't as much chat about Thibodeau's rotations in the regular season. It's also tough to put too much of the team's lackluster defense on coaching alone.

Edwards and Katz wrote how opponents successfully exploited the Knicks when Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns were playing at the same time. The "defensive habits" were the subject of frustration behind the scenes as well.

One factor working against Thibodeau, however, is that Rose doesn't have a lot of avenues through which to improve the roster in a big way.

Landing Towns and Mikal Bridges last summer represented his big all-in play. New York has depleted its draft capital, and the payroll flexibility is nonexistent.

When they're too valuable on defense, moving Bridges or OG Anunoby wouldn't make a lot of sense, so that basically leaves Towns. Finding a worthwhile trade involving KAT would be tough when he's owed a ton of money the next three years.

Changing the head coach is the one lever Rose and Dolan can pull in hopes of achieving a different outcome. That's not to say Thibodeau is a lock to get fired, but his exit wouldn't come as a complete shock.