The measuring stick for new New York Knicks head coach Mike Brown is obvious.
Do better than Tom Thibodeau.
Which means a spot in the NBA Finals.
You don’t fire Thibodeau, who coached the Knicks to back-to-back 50-win seasons for the first time since 1993-94 and 1994-95 and led them to the conference finals for the first time since 2000, to replace him with a coach who maintains the status quo – or worse.
And if you fire Thibodeau, you better replace him with a coach who has the gravitas across several fronts to justify a new coach.
The Knicks got a coach in Brown who checks several boxes:
- Experience coaching in a big market (Los Angeles) and stars (LeBron James, Shaquille O’Neal, De’Aaron Fox).
- Versatile: Known earlier in his career as a defensive-minded coach, he has expanded his offensive repertoire, guiding the Sacramento Kings to the No. 1 offense in 2022-23.
- Playoff success: 50-40 overall in the playoffs, including a Finals appearance in 2007, two Eastern Conference finals appearances and he was an assistant coach for Steve Kerr on three Golden State championship teams.
- Credibility with players: Players know Brown, and he’s a coach who can balance being a player’s coach with the appropriate authority.
Brown takes over a team that doesn’t need a lot of change in terms of commitment. The culture of hard work and championship expectations have been established.
It’s about getting the most out of the roster, individually and collectively with Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart leading. But it’s imperative that Brown develop a rotation that utilizes bench players and gives him options.
One just needed to watch the NBA Finals between Oklahoma City and Indiana to understand the importance of depth and options. It’s one reason why Thibodeau is no longer the Knicks coach.
This job needed a coach like Brown. I am a proponent of giving unproven coaches like Mark Daigneault, Joe Mazzulla and Ime Udoka chances to coach championship-caliber teams or teams headed in that direction.
But a young coach without previous NBA head coaching experience would not have been a good fit for this version of the Knicks – the expectations are too high, the pressure too much to go in that direction.
So, the Knicks reached a deal with Brown, and he knows what the job entails.
The Knicks built what they believe is a championship roster. Brown doesn’t need to get the Knicks to the Finals in 2026, but he does need to get him there if he wants to keep the job beyond this contract.
Each season that passes without the Knicks improving on what they did under Thibodeau will be viewed with sideways glances.
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