Last month, the New York Knicks parted ways with a coach that, in the court of public opinion, never should have been fired.
To replace him, ownership is reportedly hiring a coach who, in the court of public opinion, should also never have been fired.
ESPN reported Wednesday that the Knicks will hire longtime NBA coach Mike Brown as its next leader from the bench, ending a monthslong, somewhat embarrassing search process in which the franchise was denied permission to interview five currently signed coaches. After firing two-time coach of the year Tom Thibodeau following their loss in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Knicks sought permission to meet with Houston’s Ime Udoka, Minnesota’s Chris Finch, Dallas’s Jason Kidd, Atlanta’s Quinn Snyder, and Chicago’s Billy Donovan, but were denied each request.
That’s certainly not to say the Knicks land a great coach. They did. In fact, Brown is a four-time champion as an assistant with the San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors, and a two-time NBA Coach of the Year. He first won the award in 2007 after leading his Cleveland Cavaliers to their first-ever NBA Finals appearance, and won it again in 2023 after guiding his Sacramento Kings to their first playoff berth in 16 years.
Despite that success, Brown was fired in December following a 13-18 start to the season in a move many across the league considered surprising. The Kings ended up finishing ninth in the Western Conference at 40-42 under interim head coach Doug Christie, before losing in the play-in tournament.
“I’m not surprised that Mike Brown got fired, because I got fired by the same person,” former Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone said following Brown’s firing. Malone, who was ironically fired by the Nuggets later in the season, had also been previously fired by Kings owner Vivek Ranadive. “And what really pissed me off about it was the fact that they lost [Thursday] night, fifth game in a row, I believe. Tough loss. … They had practiced this morning. He does his postgame media, and he’s in his car going to the airport to fly to L.A. and they call him on the phone. No class, no balls. That’s what I’ll say about that.”
That sentiment was echoed by Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle, who called Brown’s firing from the Kings “shocking.”
“I had the privilege of working with Mike when I was in Indiana coaching the first time,” said Carlisle, who is also the president of the National Basketball Coaches Association. “I view him as one of the standard bearers for integrity for our profession. And I’m just absolutely shocked that that decision was made.”
The New York Knicks are hiring a great head coach, but they also broke even. Thibodeau, for his part, had just led the Knicks to their first Eastern Conference Finals appearance in 25 years, after having earned consecutive 50-win seasons for the first time since Patrick Ewing was in blue and orange in the 1990s.
Thibodeau led New York to four playoff appearances in his five years, and his 226 wins will go down as the fourth most for a head coach in franchise history.
The Kicks hired a great head coach. But they fired one, too.
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