Thibodeau has been the Knicks’ eleventh manager since 2000 (excluding interim coaches), and only two of them have seen a third year on the bench. Jeff Van Gundy was coach from 1996 to 2001 and Mike D’Antoni from 2008 to 2012. The rest – David Fizdale, Jeff Hornacek, Derek Fisher, Mike Woodson, Isiah Thomas, Larry Brown, Lenny Wilkens and Don Chaney – ended after a maximum of two seasons.
With this recent story in mind, Butler said patience will be needed to give Thibodeau enough time to make his mark.
“When you talk about Thibs and you talk about the Knicks, the most important thing they need to fit in is their culture of who they are and where they will hang their hats,” Butler said. “It takes time to build culture, but you don’t usually have time in New York to do these things because people want to win and they want to win now.”