Our first burst of reporting intel gathered in the wake of the New York Knicks' abrupt decision to make Tom Thibodeau their scapegoat for an Eastern Conference Finals exit to the lower-seeded Indiana Pacers:

🏀 Among the first reactions I heard via representatives from rival teams — once they digested the shock — was the oft-repeated notion that the Knicks have to have a replacement lined up if they were prepared to dump the coach who brought them their first sustained success of the 21st century.