Mike Brown is on his way to the Big Apple.
The New York Knicks are expected to hire the 55-year-old as the franchise’s next head coach.
Brown is an experienced veteran coachGettyThe two-time NBA Coach of the Year is set to replace Tom Thibodeau, who the Knicks parted ways with after five seasons.
Thibs led the Knicks to their first Eastern Conference Finals appearance in 25 years and was just two wins shy of the Finals.
He made the playoffs in four of his five years and had consecutive 50+ win seasons for the first time since the 1990s.
He was the best Knicks coach in a quarter of a century, but that apparently wasn’t enough for Knicks president Leon Rose as he sought to look toward a new direction.
A direction that has landed Brown as the new voice and leader of the storied franchise.
Brown was fired by the Sacramento Kings midway through his third season with the team after an underwhelming start and rumored behind the scenes friction.
He led the Kings back to the postseason in his first year at the helm in 2023, which was the first time the franchise had made the playoffs since 2006.
Brown won Coach of the Year honors for his efforts that season, along with winning the award back in 2009, as a young hotshot coaching LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Along with Sacramento and Cleveland, Brown also had a short stint coaching Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers before things quickly soured there.
Now Brown is hoping that fourth time is the charm.
The reports out of Sacramento were that Brown and star guard De’Aaron Fox didn’t get along, as Fox was eventually traded and Brown firedGetty Brown coached a young James for five seasons, including all the way to the 2007 FinalsGetty Brown will now be on his fourth head coaching gig (not counting interim roles)GettyMeanwhile, Knicks fans aren’t so sure about the hire and don’t seem to be dripping with enthusiasm or optimism regarding the retread hire.
“This is why the Knicks will never win a championship,” one fan commented on X.
“Man, he couldn’t win it anywhere else. Why didn’t it work out at the Kings?” another chimed in.
“Not bad but is he really a better coach than Thibs?” one more asked.
The prevailing sentiment from the New York fanbase seemed to all view the hire as either a lateral move, or a step back from Thibs.
With that being said, Brown is no slouch.
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He’s coached in the NBA Finals, has years of postseason experience, and maybe most importantly, is used to handling star players.
That’s good news for Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns.
Whether as a head coach or assistant, he has been around the likes of James, Bryant, Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker and Pau Gasol, amongst a handful of others.
The bright lights of New York City won’t intimidate Brown.
He will be looking to lead the Knicks back to the Finals for the first time since 1999, and to the franchise’s first championship since 1973.
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