‘All The Excuses Are Gone Now’

Now that the Knicks players have signed off on firing Tom Thibodeau, Magic Johnson says “there’s a lot of pressure on the players next season” and “all the excuses are gone now.”

“There’s a lot of pressure on the players next season because if you fire the coach and this is what you wanted, now you gotta step up,” Johnson said Thursday on ESPN’s “Get Up.” “I’ve been in this situation back in the Lakers and I wanted the coach gone and Paul Westhead, and it all fell on me if I wanted him gone. Now I gotta step up, and we gotta win the championship. That same year that we fired Westhead, we went on and won the championship, right? So all the excuses are gone. Now next season, [Jalen]

Brunson, if Karl-Anthony Town comes back, all you guys, the pressure is on them.”

The Knicks are still seeking a coach to replace Thibodeau, who led the franchise to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 25 years. They have reportedly been rebuked after asking for permission to speak with five sitting NBA head coaches – Jason Kidd (Dallas), Ime Udoka (Houston), Chris Finch (Minnesota), Billy Donovan (Chicago) and Quin Snyder (Atlanta).

Current and former college coaches Jay Wright, Rick Pitino, John Calipari and Dan Hurley have also said they don’t want the job.

On “Get Up,” ESPN’s Brian Windhorst called what the Knicks are doing in going after sitting coaches a “strange strategy.”

“They seem to be prioritizing people who are not available,” Windhorst said.

“It doesn’t make sense to poach coaches that are on teams that have just had highly successful seasons and are in the middle of long-term contracts.

“So I think that they have failed in their strategy here of how they have approached this decision.”

His colleague Mike Greenberg said “it looks embarrassing.”

Charles Barkley also had thoughts.

“The Knicks gotta be the stupidest damn people in the world,” he said on NBA TV during Game 3 of the NBA Finals.

“Like you don’t fire no good coach like that [Tom Thibodeau]

and don’t have a plan. I mean, Thibs did a helluva job. Obviously something’s going on there, but you don’t have a plan?

“And now the three coaches turn you down, you gotta have a plan, man. And they don’t have a plan. I don’t know what the hell they’re gonna do.”

Asked his thoughts, Johnson said: “Well, first of all, when you lead a team to the Eastern Conference Finals, and you haven’t been there in what 25 years, I thought they should say to [Thibodeau], ‘Listen, we’re going to give you one more year, right and and see if you can improve the team, if you can take us to the finals.

“But okay, they didn’t say that. Now, to Charles Barkley’s point, you have to have a plan. If you’re going to fire the man, you have to have at least somebody in mind that you can get right to come and fill his position…but it seemed like they didn’t have a plan in place.”

Johnson and ESPN’s Jay Williams suggested several possible coaches for the job, including former Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone, current Boston Celtics assistant Sam Cassell and Heat assistant Chris Quinn.

“Since they can’t get the coaches that they wanted, they should just take their time and then decide on the roster,” Johnson said, adding: “I don’t think they’re going to get Giannis [Antetokounmpo]. I think Giannis stays in Milwaukee.”

Johnson was also asked about the Knicks roster and the potential of trading for Kevin Durant, who has been linked to the San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Miami Heat and the Knicks by ESPN’s Shams Charania.

“Kevin Durant, that’s an interesting piece,” Johnson said. “If I’m the Knicks, the Knicks are too slow. They’re not going to beat Indiana next year or these other teams. They got to get a little faster, right? And to me, Kevin Durant will allow them to get faster and be a guy that can help Brunson in the fourth quarter. You’re relying on Brunson so much. One guy can’t get you there. You gotta give him some help.

“Durant will be a guy who will give you some help on the offensive end, plus he’s able to put the teams that they play against in foul trouble. I like Kevin Durant playing with the Knicks. I really do, a champion. He can teach the other guys how to win the championship, that would be important.

“But the main thing here is everybody’s gotta step up and be better next season.”

Johnson also said the Knicks lost some “swagger” when they traded away Donte DiVincenzo in the KAT deal with Minnesota.

“The swagger left the Knicks when he got traded, and they don’t have that swagger again. See, they got nice guys, but they don’t have tough, mean guys, and that’s what Donte brought to the table. The Pacers beat them up, and they were faster than them, right? So, so now they gotta change a little bit that bench. And I love what Donte brought from the bench when he came on the floor, and New York Knicks fans loved him because he was tough, he was mean, but also he could score. He could get you 15 to 25 points when he came off that bench ended and they missed that, that contribution that he brought to the team.”