Dolan not expecting any big moves for Knicks, says Thibodeau was ‘mildly surprised’ by firing

NEW YORK (AP) — Knicks owner James Dolan said Monday he wasn’t aware of any trade discussions last summer involving Giannis Antetokounmpo and doesn’t expect any big moves this season.

Speaking to WFAN Radio, Dolan also said he believed Tom Thibodeau was “mildly surprised” when the Knicks fired him last summer despite leading the Knicks to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in 25 years.

ESPN reported later in the summer that the Bucks and New York Knicks engaged in trade talks regarding Antetokounmpo in August but never gained traction on a potential deal.

Dolan was asked if there was any truth to that report.

“Not that I’m aware of,” Dolan said. “Look, we love our team right now.”

The Knicks were second in the East going into Monday’s game in Detroit against the Pistons, who top the conference. Dolan said he liked the team’s depth and chemistry under Mike Brown, who was hired as coach after Dolan and team president Leon Rose decided to move on from Thibodeau, and doesn’t think the Knicks need to do much more.

“And Leon can always overrule me, but I don’t see us making a big change because we’ve got to keep building up this group,” Dolan said. “This group can win a championship. I believe that.”

Thibodeau led the Knicks to the playoffs in four of his five seasons. Dolan praised the coach for the discipline and strategy he brought to the organization, but said the Knicks wanted a coach who was more interested in player development and collaboration. He said they talked to Thibodeau throughout last season about the leadership style changes they wanted him to make.

“I won’t say you can’t win a title with Tom Thibodeau. I don’t necessarily know that’s true,” Dolan said. “It’s just that if you want to build a long-term, competitive … you need somebody who’s much more of a collaborator than Tom was.”

The Knicks made the change just after being eliminated by the Indiana Pacers.

“I think he was mildly surprised,” Dolan said. “Like I said, he’s a great coach right, so he had probably reason to be surprised.”

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