Mike Brown Reportedly Scheduled for 2nd Knicks HC Interview amid Jason Kidd Rumors
The New York Knicks are still looking for their next head coach, and one candidate has reportedly emerged as the first to get a second look.
Ian Begley of SNY reported Brown will once again meet with the Knicks on Tuesday, an interview that will include team owner James Dolan. Stefan Bondy of the New York Post first reported Brown's second meeting with New York.
Brown's second interview comes as other names such as Jason Kidd continue to be linked to the Eastern Conference finalists.
Brown differs from Kidd and other potential candidates over the search process in part because he is not currently an active head coach of another NBA team.
But the Kidd rumors might not stop until the Dallas Mavericks provide a bit more certainty regarding his situation. While general manager Nico Harrison said he will be the team's head coach next season, Steve Popper of Newsday noted that nothing is quite clear.
"Kidd, according to a league source, has not gotten clarity from the Mavericks other than the public statements from [president of basketball operations and general manager Nico Harrison]," Popper wrote. "And the Knicks, as you might expect, aren't easing the Mavericks' minds by announcing they are willing to walk away from their pursuit."
Popper also pointed out the Knicks reached out to multiple head coaches of other teams, including Chris Finch of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Ime Udoka of the Houston Rockets, Billy Donovan of the Chicago Bulls and Quin Snyder of the Atlanta Hawks.
Yet all of those teams denied their requests.
Perhaps that gives a candidate like Brown, who was fired by the Sacramento Kings last season, an advantage in the ongoing search to find Tom Thibodeau's replacement after New York decided to move on from its previous head coach despite making the Eastern Conference Finals.
Brown has been the head coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers and Kings throughout his career with an impressive 454-304 record across 11 different seasons.
He helped lead the 2006-07 Cavaliers that featured a young LeBron James to the NBA Finals and has seven playoff appearances on his resume. One of those postseason spots came with the Kings during the 2022-23 campaign, which snapped the franchise's playoff drought that dated back to the 2005-06 season.
The Kings also finished with a winning record at 46-36 in 2023-24 but decided to fire Brown after a 13-18 start last season.
Perhaps he will have another opportunity to chase that elusive championship as a head coach with a Knicks team that figures to be on the short list of contenders in a wide-open Eastern Conference next season.
With Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, a solid supporting cast and other teams in the conference dealing with significant injury concerns, a run to the NBA Finals is not out of the question for the Knicks. They still have to find a head coach, but Brown is at least advancing in the process.
