Mike Brown Hire Signals End of NY Knicks Commitment to Defense
Through their free-agency activity so far and the expected hiring of Mike Brown to be their next head coach, the New York Knicks have made one thing unassailably clear: They are all-in on juicing their offense—potential collateral damage on defense be absolutely damned.
First thing's first: Following what appeared to be a thorough (and rejection-laden) search, ESPN's Shams Charania reported Wednesday that the Knicks are "expected to hire" Brown to replace Tom Thibodeau on the sidelines. The 55-year-old is fresh off a relatively successful stint with the Sacramento Kings that featured ending the franchise's 16-year playoff banishment; a Coach of the Year award in 2022-23; an overall regular-season winning percentage of nearly 55.0; an unceremonious exit this past season after a 13-18 start; and most importantly, the implementation of an offense that was dazzling and detonative at times.
Settling on Brown makes sense when weighed against the Knicks' offseason to date. Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele are reportedly Big Apple-bound. Their arrivals will extend the rotation and increase dynamism. But neither is someone whom you single out, even when shopping on an apron-induced budget, if you care deeply about the defensive results.
Why New York is Focusing So Heavily on the Offense
Dedicating so many resources (i.e. roster and coaching spots) to glitzing up the offense is somewhat bizarre on its face. New York just ranked fifth in points scored per possession. It’s not supposed to get much better.
Except, it does.
The Knicks were roughly league average on the offensive end from Jan. 1 onward. That’s not good enough for a team built around Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns. On the contrary, it verges on disastrous.
Excusing the choppy returns after the calendar flipped just because Brunson missed time down the stretch doesn’t pass the sniff test. New York’s offense stalled out and sometimes even imploded during its run to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Brown battled through some of the same maddening averageness while in Sacramento. But the personnel around De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis wasn’t what you’d call conducive to optimal offense. Brown also coached the Kings to the league’s best offense—and one of the 10 highest offensive ratings ever—during the 2022-23 campaign.
The ball-and-body movement principles he’s become known for largely since he spent time as an assistant with the Golden State Warriors should serve the current version of the Knicks extremely well. Brown’s teams generally have players finishing more often off cuts and operating at faster clips.
During his two full seasons at helm in Sacramento, the offense ranked third and fifth, respectively, in transition frequency. New York has not placed inside the top 10 of time spent on the break in…decades. Brown’s offensive pacing spills into the half-court, too. Through 2022-23 (first) and 2023-24 (sixth), the Kings finished near the top of the league in average possession time, according to Inpredictable. Meanwhile, last year’s Knicks were dead last in the same category.
The Knicks are Hiring Brown to Maximize the Brunson-Towns Duo
Ball movement should become increasingly common under Brown as well. Sacramento was fourth and second, respectively, in passes per game during his two full seasons on the sidelines. The Knicks’ offense currently stands in stark contrast to that type of volume. They finished 18th in passes per game last season.
Granted, ball movement doesn’t always correlate to offensive domination. But this isn’t a matter of New York transforming into the 2014 San Antonio Spurs. It just needs to create more interplay between its core members—specifically Brunson and Towns.
The Knicks’ star duo averaged around 21 passes per game to one another this past year. During their last full season together in Sacramento (2023-24), Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox threw about 36 passes to one another each game. Rewind to 2022-23, and that number checked in at 31.6—lower, but still much higher than the coaction (or lack thereof) between Towns and Brunson.
So, Uh, What About the Defense?
None of this is meant to suggest Brown is somehow defensively clueless. The Kings routinely overachieved for extended stretches relative to their personnel largely thanks to their focus on boarding opponents' misses and getting set after their own makes. Brown is also bound to (finally) normalize the Knicks using Towns in more aggressive coverages.
Still, Brown is not someone who will chopper in and guarantee a league-average-or-better defense regardless of who's on the roster. He also developed aversions to certain players with defensive leanings while in Sacramento (Keon Ellis, anyone?). Could the same thing happen with Deuce McBride? Might Mitchell Robinson see his court time dip if Brown views Yabusele as a bulkier Trey Lyles?
For the time being, the Knicks can't afford to care. You don't pair Brunson with Towns and expect to be a defensive juggernaut. You construct your team around them to forge an unflappable and dominant offensive identity.
The Knicks failed to do that last year, so they are now upping the ante with Clarkson and Yabusele and betting that Brown can succeed where Thibodeau did not.
Dan Favale is a National NBA Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Bluesky (@danfavale), and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, co-hosted by Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes.
