Carlisle was so surprised that he initially thought the news was one of "those fake AI things." Carlisle later elaborated on what made the firing of Thibodeau so unexpected to him

After leading the New York Knicks to their first Eastern Conference finals appearance in 25 years, Tom Thibodeau is out. The Knicks fired Thibodeau on Tuesday, less than a week after the team's Game 6 loss to the Indiana Pacers, the team announced.

In five seasons with the Knicks, Thibodeau posted a 226-174 record and led New York to the playoffs in four of those seasons.