When the New York Knicks went through the hiring process for a new head coach this offseason, the drama was surrounded by turmoil. There were all sorts of head-scratching moments in moving on from Tom Thibodeau.
The Knicks interviewed many head coaching candidates before they honed in on coaching veteran Mike Brown. They had also interviewed former head coaches Mike Malone, Mark Jackson, James Borrego, and a host of others.
This seemed to somewhat satisfy the fan base, who were still shocked by the firing of Thibodeau, who had led the team to its first appearance in the Eastern Conference finals in 25 years.
It was shocking to the conscience that the Knicks would terminate Thibodeau so soon after taking them to the brink of the NBA Finals. The Knicks tried to make the splash hire by trying to obtain the rights to a coach currently in the NBA, but that did not work out.
It appeared to team president Leon Rose at the end of the day, Brown was the best coach available for his team who should contend for another trip to the NBA Eastern Conference Finals. With the Boston Celtics and the Indiana Pacers forced to play the 2025-2026 season without their best players respectively, the Knicks should be in the thick of things in the East.
Brown was an assistant coach and a head coach in the league for 28 years. He has coached under big names like Rick Carlisle, Gregg Popovich and Steve Kerr.
He is also used to coaching players with glitz and glamour, as he coached LeBron James as a rookie in Cleveland with the Cavaliers. He also coached Steve Nash and Dwight Howard with the Los Angeles Lakers. The bright lights of the big city of Manhattan will not prove to be too bright for Brown. He can handle the pressure.
Brown has had recent success as he won his second Coach of the Year Award with the Sacramento Kings in 2023-2024. He also tasted misery as the same team fired him last season.
Brown has been known as a player's coach. Despite being fired four times, he is well-respected around the league and will go down as a very good coach. He is the right man, if a new man was to be selected, to lead the Knicks this season.
There were rumblings the Knicks should go after a bright, young assistant coach and possibly catch lightning in a bottle with the next Ime Udoka or Dark Daigneault. The fans would probably not accept that as they want someone who has "been there, done that".
If the Knicks were going to make the move to let Thibodeau walk, then Brown was the right move. It can be argued all day Thibodeau should not have been fired, but that is an argument for another day.