The Knicks have their man.
And he will face massive expectations in New York.
New York is hiring Mike Brown as their new coach to replace the fired Tom Thibodeau, as first reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Brown, 55, is a two-time former NBA Coach of the Year -- in 2009 with the Cleveland Cavaliers and in 2023 with the Sacramento Kings. He also coached the L.A. Lakers and was an associate head coach with the Golden State Warriors.
He led LeBron James and the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals in 2007 and to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2009.
He is a four-time former NBA champion as an assistant to Gregg Popovich in San Antonio and Steve Kerr in Golden State.
Brown is 454-304 for his coaching career.
Brown takes over a veteran team that features Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson that is coming off the franchise’s first Eastern Conference Finals appearance in 25 years.
They have now added combo guard Jordan Clarkson and center Gershon Yabusele to bolster one of the weaker benches in the East.
The Knicks requested permission to speak with five sitting head coaches, including Jason Kidd of the Dallas Mavericks and were denied.
Former Villanova coach Jay Wright, St. John’s and former Knicks coach Rick Pitino, UConn coach Dan Hurley and Arkansas coach John Calipari all said they are not interested in the Knicks job.
On “Get Up,” ESPN’s Brian Windhorst called what the Knicks were doing in going after sitting coaches a “strange strategy.”
“They seem to be prioritizing people who are not available,” Windhorst said Thursday.
“It doesn’t make sense to poach coaches that are on teams that have just had highly successful seasons and are in the middle of long-term contracts.
“So I think that they have failed in their strategy here of how they have approached this decision.”
His colleague Mike Greenberg said “it looks embarrassing.”
Charles Barkley also had thoughts.
“The Knicks gotta be the stupidest damn people in the world,” he said on NBA TV during Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
“Like you don’t fire no good coach like that [Tom Thibodeau] and don’t have a plan. I mean, Thibs did a helluva job. Obviously something’s going on there, but you don’t have a plan?
“And now the three coaches turn you down, you gotta have a plan, man. And they don’t have a plan. I don’t know what the hell they’re gonna do.”
Now they have their man and nothing less than an NBA Finals appearance will be acceptable to fans.
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Adam Zagoria is a freelance reporter who covers Seton Hall and NJ college basketball for NJ Advance Media. You may follow him on Twitter @AdamZagoriaand check out his Website atZAGSBLOG.com.
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