Mike Brown has verbally agreed to a deal to become the head coach of the Knicks, according to Sam Amick of the Athletic (via Twitter), who adds that Brown is expected to officially sign his contract early next week.
In a look at what the two-time Coach of the Year will bring to the Knicks, ESPN’s Chris Herring points to a willingness to change up the rotation if he doesn’t like what he’s seeing. This marks a clear change from former head coach Tom Thibodeau, who had a reputation for being notoriously slow to change a lineup that don’t seem to be working.
Herring also believes that Brown’s time with the Kings, including a season in which they broke the league’s offensive efficiency record, bodes well for his work with a Knicks team that has clearly oriented itself around creating the most lethal offense possible.
According to Fred Katz of the Athletic, Brown’s greatest gift might be his ability to evolve as a coach. The offensive system he brought to Sacramento was entirely different from the one his teams in Cleveland deployed. Brown possesses a mind for detail, Katz writes, but he loves to bring in outside ideas and influences, whether that means relying on assistant coaches or taking parts of sets he has seen others run.
The Knicks are banking on the idea that his various experiences throughout his coaching journey can culminate in the ultimate success in New York.
We have more from the Knicks:
- Dante Exum was considering the Knicks before eventually agreeing to re-sign with the Mavericks, writes SNY’s Ian Begley. That interest, along with their previously reported check-in on Ben Simmons, would indicate the Knicks might be looking for one more guard to fill out the roster. It also suggests they’re looking for a defensive-minded player to complement their two offensive-facing additions in Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele.
- According to Begley, some within the Knicks’ decision-making group viewed Deandre Ayton as a potentially good fit next to Karl-Anthony Towns, prior to Ayton agreeing to sign with the Lakers. Begley confirms ESPN’s reporting that feedback on Ayton coming out of Portland was encouraging, and adds that the Knicks were told good things about his leadership with the younger players on the Blazers. However, New York had no path to matching or exceeding the Lakers’ two-year, $16.6MM offer.
- Within the same story, Begley notes that the Knicks were impressed by Timberwolves assistant coach Micah Nori‘s interview for the team’s head coaching vacancy, especially his thoughts on player production and workloads. The Knicks primarily considered candidates with previous head coaching experience, with Nori serving as the lone exception.
- In case you missed it, Yabusele spoke about what appealed to him about the Knicks and why he accepted their contract offer.