Mike Brown‘s new contract with the Knicks will cover four years, according to reports from Casey Powell (aka CP The Fanchise) of Knicks Fan TV and Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter links).
Powell suggests the deal will be in the range of $8-9MM annually, while Begley says it’ll come in slightly higher and will be worth $40MM in total value.
Word first broke on Wednesday that Brown was expected to become the Knicks’ next head coach, with a Friday report indicating that the two sides had verbally agreed on a deal that will be officially finalized early next week.
Brown was fired last season by the Kings during the first season of a three-year deal that paid him $8.5MM annually, so Sacramento will save some money via the set-off clause that applies to NBA head coaching contracts, notes Begley.
The Knicks, meanwhile, fired Tom Thibodeau with three years and $30MM left on his deal.
New York was one of just two teams to make a head coaching change this offseason, joining the Suns, who replaced Mike Budenholzer with Jordan Ott.
Three teams – the Kings (Doug Christie), Grizzlies (Tuomas Iisalo), and Nuggets (David Adelman) – retained their interim head coaches after making in-season changes. A fourth team, San Antonio, officially announced that Mitch Johnson would replace Gregg Popovich on a permanent basis after Johnson served as the Spurs’ head coach for most of 2025/26 while Popovich recovered from a stroke.
What’s the line on him not lasting 4 years? I think they fire him after 2.
Four years is a long time in any league. I would take the under.
i like mike brown but its an uninspired hire
Thibs made a name for himself off the margins of playing his starters 6-8 min/game more in the regular season and burning them out by the playoffs when every other team ramps up. Knicks don’t need an inspired coach. They just need a normal guy that can rotate their depth.
Knicks had a first year team with no bench. They pay him to win. Only 4 teams reach the Finals every year. For a first year team. Thibs did alright.
Brown is basically another Thibs. Fix the offense and bench. Knicks will improve on that top 4 finish
Kind of how I feel about it. I get the need for change but Brown doesn’t strike me as all that different from Thibs in the grand scheme of things. We’ll see. I’ll be rooting for him regardless.
Dolan is so stupid that he’s gonna pay Thibs $30m over the next three years to not coach his team. It’s a drop in the bucket for him, I guess, but still ridiculous.
For a similar coach that will produce similar results.
I am just baffled by what this hire.
Sorry Knick fans.
Brown’s an excellent coach.
Look up what he did in Sacruhis first year. Thats why he is here. Really a younger Thibs ……
Brown has a shot this year. The Knicks afraid hungry abd know they need a different system to win especially in a now week East.
I wouldn’t have hired Brown, because he’s not a team builder. That’s the premium coaching skill that most teams need when they’re hiring a HC (whether they know it or not), and its what the NYK had in Thibs. But its likely that team building won’t be a significant part of the NYK job next year, and when it becomes central to the job again, Brown will likely be gone. So, maybe he’s not the worst hire. His resume includes a very successful 1st year (with an inherited roster) in SAC. NYK are a different team, and more importantly it’s NY, but he has experience coaching other people’s teams and some success doing it. Nobody else we interviewed did.
Brown is known as a D coach. He is basically a younger Thibs. He is here cause he’s more a company man. And just a new vision. Mostly for this::;
“ Offensive Performance:
The Kings achieved the highest offensive rating in NBA history under Brown’s coaching and also scored the most points per game in 40 years. ”
link to google.com
Mike Brown deserves a shot. He knows what he is up against in NY. The expectations now are to contend and win a chip. Starting next year …. NYK
Glad to not hear Tibbs screaming on the sidelines…I can unmute my TV now when I see NY play….his screeching was beyond annoying.