Mike Brown “likely” to be Knicks next head coach
- Thread starter Tetsujin
- Start date
Honest to goodness if I were in his shoes I'd sit at home taking that sweet nap on my couch money rather than go to NY. Don't understand what he has to gain there.
KainLear
Starter
I'd go coach my granddaughter's team before I go back to the NBA if I were him.
I wish him well but in that environment with their expectations I think that's about right. And coming off the flameout here where he was given kid glove treatment I doubt he gets it in NY. Why not wait for another rebuilding team to come calling? This could be his last job coming so quickly after the Kings gig.
Padrino
All-Star
Well, these kinds of guys aren't like you or me. Mike Brown and Tom Thibodeau have a lot in common. They're grinders, guys who've played and coached at multiple lower levels, moving around as assistants in the NBA for many years before getting their initial head coaching opportunities. They never stay away from the game long. They can't. Even if it seems like they should kick their feet up awhile, it's just not in their nature. They worked too hard to make it to the hot seat, and they know the score; they may only get to keep the gig for a few years, but I have to imagine it means everything.
see my last comment above though. I just don't think this is the best opportunity given the market, expectations, and media.
coolhandluke
Starter
Knicks have an outside chance at a Finals run. Coaches can't just sit around doing nothing. Have to keep that mind sharp and be an assistant if that's what it takes. Good chance to get paid doing what he loves and pad up that resume and bank balance.
He has dealt with Vivek and Dolan is just a step up. The only thing is how he will handle the caustic NY media. Didn't go well the last time he was with the Lakers.
Padrino
All-Star
Eh. Neither guy has ever seemed to care about the criticism that comes their way, nor about the expectations that come from being in a massive media market. Hell, Brown coached LeBron and Kobe. Brunson's small potatoes by comparison. You've gotta have some seriously thick skin to survive as a head coach in the NBA, and whatever failings Mike Brown may possess as a coach, he has never struck me as a guy who's afraid.
QWERTYLICIOUS
Starter
Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't last that long out there.
iowamcnabb
Hall of Famer
coolhandluke
Starter
Tetsujin
The Game Thread Dude
“Thorough” my ass. They panic fired Thibs, had no options at the ready for a replacement, decided to try to poach head coaches from other teams and then quickly interviewed two guys who got fired last season when it turned out that every other team liked their head coaches enough to not just let New York have them (aside from the Bucks who were not asked about letting Doc Rivers interview for the job)
ockingsfan
Starter
Good for MB! Also, should be good news for the Kings!
If Vivek is off the hook for the remainder of MB's contract (which he never wanted to give him), it should free up money for the team to spend elsewhere.
If Vivek is off the hook for the remainder of MB's contract (which he never wanted to give him), it should free up money for the team to spend elsewhere.
Brown took a $1 contract to stick it to Vivek.
*not really
*not really
Padrino
All-Star
Eh. I wouldn't put much stock into these reports. LeBron's been running this playbook for over a decade now. His team leaks out rumors that he's considering a trade request to this team or that team just to put a fire under his current front office. Then that front office ends up making short-sighted moves to placate LeBron that don't necessarily put him in any better position to win a title. Though he's obviously great for franchises as a player, this is why he's always been terrible for franchises as a de facto player-GM.
Sacramento the biggest beneficiary!
Tetsujin
The Game Thread Dude
Vivek’s pocketbook doing nonstop shakas right now
This is a best-case scenario for everyone. The Kings don't have to keep paying for their mistake, Mike Brown has another NBA head coaching job, and the Villa-Knicks get to keep their knees intact with a return to normal starters minutes in their future.
Tetsujin
The Game Thread Dude
Domas and De’Aaron were both like top ten in minutes played under Mike Brown so I wouldn’t be so sure about that haha
I still don't think anyone is remotely in Thibodeau's league for deciding to leave guys in for 40+ minutes. Domas played a lot because we didn't even have a backup C last season until after Mike Brown was fired. Fox played a lot because he was the last starter standing for almost a month early in the season and often our only source of offense in the fourth quarter.
I suppose you're just going for the low-hanging fruit here, but I think it will become clear pretty quick in 4 months time once the new season is underway (if it isn't clear already) the extent to which Mike Brown was not the Kings' problem last season.
Tetsujin
The Game Thread Dude
The man played Kobe and Pau 39 and 38 minutes a game respectively his one whole season of coaching them then played Kyrie 36 minutes a night his one year coaching a rebuilding Cavs team so while he’s not Thibs, he’s certainly not being super conservative with the minutes.
Mike Brown reportedly vetoed trades for guys like John Collins and Brandom Ingram who were not guys I'd have targeted but would have probably been better fits than DDR ultimately became. Presumably that also means he signed off on DDR, as well as some of the bust moves we brought in during 2023-24 (McGee, Duarte, specifically - guys he gave far more minutes than they earned). He never seemed to trust Keon which is probably his gravest sin.
It's fine to say Brown did a lot for this franchise without absolving him of his sins that caused a lot of the team to quit on him.
It's fine to say Brown did a lot for this franchise without absolving him of his sins that caused a lot of the team to quit on him.
For the one season Mike Brown coached the Lakers, do you think Kobe was listening to anyone else but himself about when he was going in or coming out of the game? That guy had more of a green light to do whatever he wanted than any other player in the history of sports at that point in time.
What about absolving the guys who actually did the quitting? That's what I'm reluctant to do.
And guys like John Collins and Brandon Ingram have salary cap crippling contracts attached to them so it should have been the GM vetoing those moves not the coach. DDR wasn't an ideal fit, true, but he was and is on a fair contract for his level of play. And it's not like a lot of free agents are running to join the Kings every year.
Acquiring DDR alone wasn't the problem either, in my opinion. It was failing to address the starting PF position and backup C position before the season started and not getting DeMar's approval from day one that he needs to accept a bench role if the coach thinks that's what's best for the team. Players can't be allowed to cry to whomever "good cop" is in this scenario whenever the hard-line coach asks them to do something they don't like and get their way.
And Mike Brown was actually coaching Keon Ellis -- not letting him play through his mistakes. We lost some games because of that but the goal was to win in the playoffs not the regular season. I understood that. Some of the players understood that. Some of them are just happy to be here and those are the guys we kept. It's why nobody takes this team seriously.
We had reports that Brown called Collins and Ingram low IQ guys and vetoed. Like I said - didn't want them, don't know what the trades were, but both are PF and the type of bodies we could use and probably would have been upgrades to Barnes although not ones that put us over the top.
As far as who quit on the team. I think we got Fox who seemed to check out when he realized All-NBA was off the table, he's gone.
Kevin? He's gone. DDR seemed to check out for a bit in the run up to Fox being traded and was clearly not happy after the honeymoon. Most people can't wait to shed him. Lyles? packing.
Domas? Despite reports he didn't like the teams direction he always seemed to play all out.
Monk? I don't know but Brown should have never resorted to starting him instead of giving Keon a chance there given the metrics.
Keegan did everything he was asked. Keon too.
Sorry going to disagree on Keon when he let a dozen other guys play through their mistakes and it cost us games him being extra hard with Keon makes zero sense. Same frankly with Fox saying it was Brown or bust, that was just an easy avenue for him to finally ask out. He cost Brown his job with his play vs. the Pistons. Sure, sure he was probably dead man walking at that point but moreso than anyone Fox was not responding to Brown's coaching.
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