FULL REACTION to Knicks hiring Mike Brown as head coach with Shams Charania & others | SportsCenter

FULL REACTION to Knicks hiring Mike Brown as head coach with Shams Charania & others | SportsCenter

This is Sports Center. Welcome to Sports Center. Amina Smith here with you. Day five of 50 states in 50 days where Christine Williamson is hanging out in New Mexico. We’ll get to her in a bit, but first the story lines keep pumping out of the NBA. Let’s bring in our senior NBA insider Sham Shirania alongside our NBA analyst Quinton Richardson right now. And Sean’s breaking news coming out of New York. What do you got for us? I’m told twotime NBA head coach of the year Mike Brown is expected to be named the next New York Knicks head coach. And this comes after Mike Brown had his second formal interview with the Knicks this week. And this time with owner James Dolan on Tuesday and a job now will be his. Knicks president Leon Rose began this head coaching search about a month ago when they fired Tom Thibido. They requested permission and were denied by five current head coaches. And then they started their process of interviewing several available coaches. They went through multi-round stages. And now Mike Brown, he’s a four-time champion as an assistant coach. I mean, he’s coached a vast array of superstar talent across three decades as an NBA assistant and head coach. LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Jayon Green, Tim Duncan, Manu Genobbi, Dear Fox, and Damata Sabonis most recently. and in 2022 23 he had the top rated offense in the NBA. The Knicks are obviously hoping for that same type of adaptability and offensive creativity this upcoming season around Jaylen Brunson and call Anthony Towns.
A lot of championship pedigree right there. And Q they say once a Nick always a Nick. You played for the New York Knicks. What’s your reaction to this hire? I mean I was surprised. I didn’t know that you know they was that serious about Mike Brown. But as you just heard Sean run down his list of accolades. Man, Mike Brown is not a snail a snooze at coach. He’s been a great coach for a long time. He’s been a part of a lot of great organizations and coaching staff starting out in San Antonio with with Pop. You know, he was a part of the uh Golden State Warriors championships. And like he said, he’s been a two-time head coach of the year himself. And recently in Sacramento, he did a great job with the Bean team and restoring that franchise to giving them some something to hold their head about. So, I like Mike Brown as a coach. I just don’t think that the Knicks fans were thinking this was the move that was going to be made after they they you know after they got rid of Tib and did did the things that they did? But I I think if they give Mike Brown a chance, he could do really good for him.
And Sean, you talked about the other candidates that the Knicks were looking at. What more do you know about the key factors that led New York to choose Mike Brown over those other candidates?
So Mike Brown was the fourth known candidate to interview for the job. So, Taylor Jenkins, the former Grizzlies coach, James Bargo, associate coach of the Pelicans, Minnesota Timberl’s lead assistant, Micah Nori, and then Mike Brown. But they just felt with his experience, his adaptability, his creativity on offense that he has shown in recent years in Sacramento that that really took him over the top. But listen, at the end of the day, this is a pressure cooker of a job that Mike Brown is coming into in New York City with the type of star talent that this Knicks group has. So Mike Brown knows across his three decades, he’s been a part of opportunities like this where he knows it’s championship or bust. He’s been through it with the Warriors recently. He’s tried to build it up with the Sacramento Kings, but now the pressure will be on in New York with Mike Brown as the head coach with a very stardriven team.
And Q, you touched on it a little bit. You said Nick’s fans a little bit indifferent to this hire right now. I was on social media. I see some of the reactions out there, the memes and everything. Some people saying that Mike Brown and Tom Tibido are pretty much the same type of coach. Do you see it that way? No, I don’t see him the same the same type of coach, but like you said, I was aware of the social media activity, too. I I I think they’re different. And I think uh you know, Coach Brown, Coach Mike Brown, he does have like he in in San Antonio when he was coming from he was known as a defensive guy and then I think that kind of changed once he got to San Antonio being I mean uh Golden State being around that offensive group. I think he’s a good mesh of both things. I think he’s a great he’s got, like you said, like Sean said, he’s got some offensive creativity now, but he was based on defense and I think that’s a good mashup and I think that’s why he’s had success as a coach and he’s been a head coach of the year a couple times in this league.
And there’s a ton of question marks in the East next year. You got Tyrese Hallebertton now, Jason Tatum is out. The Bucks have moved on from Damen Lillard. So Q, what are the expectations for New York knowing that the East right now is pretty much wide open? Oh, we know that the New Yorkers are expecting themselves to get to a championship, get to a Eastern Conference Finals that the the East appear and like you said, everybody appeared looks at it like it’s kind of wide open with the injuries that have occurred. It’s time to go all in and try and get it done. And I mean, this team was right there knocking on the door and they they you know, they didn’t have any injuries or anything like that. That’s setting them back. So, all intents and purposes, they should be the team to step up to the plate and try try and conquer. So, I mean, if you’re a New York Knicks fan, you expecting to at least get to the Eastern Conference Championship and be competing to go to the finals.
Yeah, look, championship expectations for this Knicks team and the Knicks just shaking things up on a Wednesday afternoon. Shute, thanks so much for the insight. Brown will be the next head coach of the Knicks. He replaces Tom Tibido, who was fired after taking New York to the conference finals. Brown went to the finals with LeBron in 2007. However, he wasn’t he hasn’t won the title as a head coach. She won four as an assistant and he was fired by the Kings in December. Basketball analyst Monica McNut joins us right now. Monica, you cover the New York Knicks. Your reaction to this move. Well, I’m glad that someone’s in place, honestly, Amina. But I actually think Mike Brown is a terrific pick both for this city, for this team, and what the Knicks were looking for after they let go of head coach Tom Tibido. That was not because Tom Tibido did not work hard, was not diligent, and was not a student of the game, but they’re looking for a coach that’s going to help move this offense forward and connect with these players on a different level. And I can remember meeting Mike Brown when he was an assistant in Golden State. He’s got a great rapport both with players and coaches around the league. Um, I think that he’s a good fit moving forward. So, I’m excited to see what this is going to look like.
And the Knicks made some moves in free agency, adding Jordan Clarkson and Gashan Yabusle. What kind of roster is Mike Brown taking over? right now.
Well, when you look at it, Amina, everything that’s happening in the East, right? Yesterday’s free agency moves and such, the Knicks, honestly, their core remains most intact as you look out toward next year. The additions of Clarkson and Yaboselli are welcome, particularly Yaboselli as a versatile rebounder. Clarkson obviously microwave scoring off of the bench, an area where the Knicks struggled this particular season. But beyond that, you still have a team that had a terrific year offensively. When you look at what they were able to do this last season, you have a chance to add to that. You still have a team that understands the importance of grit, of defense, of rebounding, and you’ve got one of the most laid-back superstars in the league and Jaylen Brunson who truly wants to do whatever is required to make this team most successful.
And what are the expectations for Brown coming in after Tom Tibido took this team to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 25 years?
Well, Amina, let’s call it a spade. Eastern Conference Finals at a minimum seemed to be the expectation both when as I mentioned you look at how much this team has been able to add and keep its core intact, right? You don’t make a move like moving on from a coach after getting you back to the promised land in two decades without the expectation that you can get back there assuming everyone can stay healthy. And so I’m actually really excited to see how this unfolds. I know that there might be a sentiment that this was not the Knicks guy, but I would offer that the process was asking coaches who, as you have seen, maybe were not available, but it doesn’t mean that Mike Brown was not always on the radar and one of the top candidates for this opening.
The expectations are sky high for the New York Knicks. Monica McNel with the latest. Thanks so much. The Knicks hope Mike Brown will have some of the same first season success he had in Sacramento when he led the Kings to an 18- win turnaround in his first season there. He had an eight or more win improvement from the previous year’s record in his first season and three of his four head coaching stops. Our NBA front office insider Bobby Marks joins us right now. And by before this hire, the Knicks, they already made some moves in free agency. However, now with Mike Brown in the reigns as a head coach, do you anticipate Mike Brown, you know, maybe changing the way this Knicks team approaches free agency from this point forward?
I I don’t think so. So, I I think it’s a unique situation where you have a a new head coach is walking into a win now roster that has already added two free agents in in Jordan Clarkson and and Gershon Yavelli. And let’s face it, New York based on what’s happened with the other teams, Boston, certainly Milwaukee, Indiana, uh them and Cleveland are the favorites in the Eastern Conference just with those two minor moves here. And it is a unique situation and they’ll rely on his experience in Golden State and certainly that one year in Sacramento when they reach the uh the first round of the playoffs.
And we talked about uh you know Mike Brown being a four-time NBA champion as an assistant. Bobby, what about Mike Brown’s NBA coaching history makes you believe he can succeed with this Knicks team?
Well, I think we go back to that that first year in Sacramento, what he was able to do when he won co he was he’s only removed from winning coach of the year about three years ago. And that’s an offense that ranked number one in offensive efficiency with with Sacramento and he’s inheriting a Nick team that’s top five in offensive efficiency and and certainly we saw that the struggles a little bit in in the playoffs and I think if you’re Leon Roser, president of basketball operations, you’re leaning on Mike Brown to give a little bit of a different voice as far as how you can go about doing that.
Look, I want to throw this at you. We talked about the expectations for this Knicks team. obviously went to the Eastern Conference Finals last season. An NBA championship is on their mind. I mean, with a new head coach, how much more movement on this roster needs to be made in order for them to get over the hump?
Yeah, there’s there’s a the one side that you relying on continuity. Um, you know, that’s usually a plus when you look at the starting five returns. You also have Mitchell Robinson and and Deuce McBride. And as I said, you you bring back those two players. I do think continuity matters here. They’ve they’ve made some major uh changes with Carl Anthony Towns and and Male Bridges. I think you walk into a situation and I think a year from now if this team hasn’t gotten to a conference finals, then you can evaluate it here. Um but I don’t think you can make overhaul changes just because a coach is walking into an already made situation.
Look, the Knicks with plenty of moves made on this Wednesday afternoon. Bobby, thanks so much. New York went through an exhaustive search getting turned down in the request to talk to Jason Kidd, Emodoka, and more. Brown has coached the Cavs, Lakers, and Kings getting fired by Sacramento back in December. Our NBA insider Ramona Shelburn joins us now to break down this hire. And Ramona, what more can you tell us about how the Knicks landed on Mike Brown?
Well, this was a long process. As you know, they’re the last team to hire a head coach. They were did the same thing when they hired M when they hired Tom Thibido before this. But they really liked Mike Brown’s experience here. He has a long relationship with Leon Rose in the who is the president of the Knicks and who was running this search. And I think that with Mike Brown, what one of the things they really liked about him is he has been in the pressure cooker. He had the hardest job in sports. That’s following Phil Jackson as head coach of the Lakers. He coached Kobe Bryant. He’s coached LeBron James in Cleveland. He coached Steph Curry in Golden State. So this crucible that is the New York Knicks in the New York media market is not going to be daunting for Mike Brown. And they like that he’s disciplined and organized, but also kind of a kinder, gentler version of Tom Thibido. So you’re going to have a lot of the same type of culture that you had, but also somebody who is more flexible and inclusive and maybe probably play some bench guys some more. And look, you listed all of it right there. Mike Brown has lots of experience coaching superstars. How might that experience help him in New York and really get them over the hump? Well, you know, he’s I remember with Mike Brown when he was coaching at Golden State and he had to coach a lot of those finals games for Steve Kerr. Remember when Steve Kerr had those back issues and Mike Brown actually coached in those games? He really seemed like a different guy to me. He had learned so much from those stops in Cleveland and LA. And I and I looked at him and I was like, Mike, you really this Golden State Warriors culture has has rubbed off on you. And he took that into Sacramento. He rebuilt the Kings into a one of the best stories in the NBA. And now I think in New York he understands how to deal with superstars. He understands how to deal with pressure, but he’s also he just he’s a different guy. I don’t think people know a lot about Mike Brown as except for the guy with the clipboard and the glasses. He rides a motorcycle over here to Sturis. Like he’s he’s kind of cool and he’s got this vibe to him that I think is you wouldn’t expect and I think it’s it’s evolved over the years. And you know, look, they wanted somebody with experience. The runner up here was Mori who is the assistant coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves. They really liked him. They liked his background with Carl Anthony Towns. Mike Brown and all that experience for a team that was in the Eastern Conference Finals uh was was the choice here because of that experience and his long relationship with Leon Rose.
And the Knicks, they made some moves in free agency. However, that core is still very much intact. How much does that help Mike Brown maybe push this team forward? Well, look, consistency is the word. And when we look at the NBA in the Eastern Conference, it is wide open. I mean they you know the the the team that beat them the Indiana Pacers has lost Tyresese Hallebertton and now Miles Turner in free agency and so that the Cleveland Cavaliers the Boston Celtics they they beat the Boston Celtics they don’t have Tatum Cleveland is obviously was out in the second round this I think you’re the Knicks and you look at how close you were and when they decided to fire Tom Dibido that you know some of the sense that my reporting had given me was that they felt like they had gotten they could have won that series they should have won that series and it wasn’t just the game one loss and the way that that things handled it was some of the adjustments in game and the way teams had scouted Jaylen Brunson in that pick and roll action with Carl Towns and so they wanted a guy with a fresh set of ideas and a fresh set of eyes on those two super sides and how to make them work better because they feel like they have the pieces there to win and it’s just a matter of getting the most out of them.
Look, you’re absolutely right. You take a look at how close the Knicks were last season and also how wide open the East is going to be next season could be shaping up to be New York’s year. Ramona with the insight. Thanks so much. [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause]

Shams Charania, Quentin Richardson, Monica McNutt, Bobby Marks and Ramona Shelburne join SportsCenter to talk about the New York Knicks being expected to hire two-time NBA Coach of the Year Mike Brown as the franchise’s next head coach

0:00 Shams breaks the Knicks news
4:17 Expectations for New York
5:22 Monica McNutt joins
7:44 Free agency approach
10:25 The hiring process

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