NBA Rumors: Tom Thibodeau upset New York Knicks didn't bring Reggie Bullock back in free agency
According to recent NBA rumors, New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau has expressed displeasure over the fact that the franchise allowed Reggie Bullock to join the Dallas Mavericks this offseason.
Bullock played a critical role in the New York Knicks being one of the best defensive sides in the league. He will now play for Jason Kidd's team after signing a 3-year, $30.5 million deal with the Western Conference side.
Thibodeau recently spoke about the importance of defense, and mentioned that the New York Knicks will have to be committed on the defensive side of the ball:
“There’s the challenge of being strong on both sides of the ball,’’ Thibodeau said. “So we feel that we have to make that same commitment. Defensively, it was one of the best in history in terms of points allowed, field-goal percentage and 3-point percentage.
Thibodeau continued:
"Maybe the commitment goes away and we can’t be that. I think one of the things that really helped us last year was our commitment to play for each other.’’
Instead of re-signing Bullock, the New York Knicks chose to invest in backcourt offense, one of their major weaknesses last season. The Knicks landed Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier, and they are expected to start at point guard and the shooting guard positions, respectively.
Tom Thibodeau was disappointed #Knicks didn’t bring back Reggie Bullock, per source. Now Coach T has tall task of replicating last season’s history-making defense #NBA nypost.com/2021/09/28/kni…
The New York Knicks could pull off some major upsets in the East in the 2021-22 NBA campaign
The New York Knicks will field an extremely balanced starting lineup in the 2021-22 NBA season, which will have as many as four ball handlers on the court at the same time. Apart from the backcourt pairing of Walker and Fournier, even the forward duo of RJ Barrett and Julius Randle are capable of running the offense. Apart from the quartet, they will also have Derrick Rose coming off the bench as the sixth man.
Reggie Bullock got the full Non-Taxpayer MLE from the Dallas Mavericks:
21-22: $9,536,000
22-23: $10,012,800
23-24: $10,489,600
Final season is guaranteed for $5,451,200. 5% trade bonus in the deal too.
@spotrac
With such firepower and head coach Tom Thibodeau's defensive schemes, the New York Knicks might be able to pull off some upsets in the top-heavy Eastern Conference next season.
The Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks might be out of the Knicks' reach, but they can certainly hold their own against the likes of the Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers, Atlanta Hawks, and Chicago Bulls.