Enter Mike Brown

Once the players publicly spoke out on Thibs not using the bench enough, I had a feeling I could be writing about a different head coach this season. Thank you for your service Thibs. The fanbase will never forget the playoff run of 2025. Not to mention this franchise was in dark place when you arrived in the summer of 2020. I will always appreciate you getting us out of the mud and giving the city real hope. I got a lot of texts throughout the season that referenced Tom Thibodeau, as our version of what Marc Jackson was to the Warriors. I was skeptical at the time, but now we need to find our Steve Kerr. Enter Mike Brown (who coached alongside Kerr from 2016-2022). The University of San Diego graduate brings a lot of energy and enthusiasm to the big apple. When I first heard that the Knicks were going to hire Brown, I was relieved that the search was over. It took a little over a month, but we finally had our guy. I wanted someone with NBA head coaching experience. I think when you are getting ready to take over a championship contender that is important. Especially when it is New York City. Where if you start 4-5, they are asking for your job. Well, some fans are. Not everyone is ready for that kind of pressure. I believe Mike Brown is. One thing I do feel confident about is a fast start. The players understand the microscope this team is under, and more specifically on their new coach. There will be a sense of urgency. Brown has been in this league in some capacity as a coach for 26 seasons. He has been an assistant for the Duncan and Curry dynasties and has led LeBron and Kobe in battle. A basketball lifer who has been around the best this game has to offer. He understands what the winning model in the association looks like. I know there were some other names that were floating around that seemed more qualified for the job. They tried to steal about half the leagues coaches in this process. But obviously only time will tell if this was the correct decision. I personally believe that we can do a lot worse than Mike Brown. I have heard a lot of “We did all that just to replace Thibs with this guy” over the past few weeks. The locker room needed change. I know that is a hard concept to grasp after the success the Knicks had this past season, but I do think a fresh voice and some flexible philosophies will aid the ball club in getting over the top. I’m sure Brown is doing all his homework and understands very well what did work and did not work for the Bockers. The two-time head coach of the year showed off a lot of his offensive creativity, in leading the Kings to the playoffs for the first time in 16 seasons in 2023. Not that this will be a direct correlation to the team's success, but I do look forward to some epic post game press conferences and showing some personality with the media. How can you not love the video of him doing a full sprint in practice with the Kings. But he is not here to make you laugh. This is about winning. And results. The best form of entertainment there is, bringing the Knicks to the promised land.