Burning Knicks questions Mike Brown has to answer at first presser

New York Post

8 hours ago

On Tuesday, the Knicks will introduce new coach Mike Brown to the media. Below are some questions The Post's Zach Braziller expects him to have to answer:
There's a championship-or-bust expectation for this team now from the fan base and seemingly the front office. Is that your expectation as well?
The Knicks reached the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in 25 years under former coach Tom Thibodeau, and have won at least a round in the playoffs each of the previous three seasons. Yet, they moved on from Thibodeau — the franchise's most successful coach in over two decades — after falling two wins short of the NBA Finals. They brought back their entire core, and added quality depth pieces in guard Jordan Clarkson and forward Guerschon Yabusele. They will enter next season the co-favorite in the East with the Cavaliers. Anything less than a trip to the NBA Finals would be considered a disappointment. They are supposed to win big.
What kind of pressure is that for you?
Brown has big shoes to fill. Thibodeau was a personal favorite of superstar guard Jalen Brunson and took the Knicks from irrelevance to being contenders. Several players, from Brunson to Mitchell Robinson to Josh Hart, improved under Thibodeau's watch. The decision to move on from Thibodeau drew some criticism, and Brown's hire was hardly celebrated. Brown, it should be noted, hasn't won a round in the playoffs in 13 years. He is expected to go far next spring. He has plenty of doubters.
The team's offense stagnated in the second half last season, posting an offensive rating of 112.3, which was No. 22 in the league. It wasn't much better in the playoffs: A 112.7 rating, ranking seventh among postseason teams. How do you get the offense back among the team's elite?
Expect more ball movement and additional 3-point attempts. Those were hallmarks of the Kings offense under Brown, at least in his mostly successful first two seasons in Sacramento (he was fired 31 games into his third year). The season prior to his arrival, the Kings were 21st in 3-point attempts. In Brown's first season, they jumped to sixth and then third. Similarly, the Kings delivered the fourth-most passes and third-most assists in the NBA in Brown's first season and second-most passes and seventh-most assists in his second year.
Jalen Brunson was a particular fan of Tom Thibodeau.
NBAE via Getty Images
After two strong seasons with the Kings that included the postseason, the team wasn't playing as well last year. What do you think happened in Sacramento this past season?
Last summer, after leading the Kings to back-to-back playoff berths, Brown received a contract extension through the 2026-27 season. But a terrible start cost him his job. Sacramento pulled the plug with the Kings in the midst of a five-game losing streak and sitting at 13-18. At the time, the Kings had lost an NBA-worst nine contests after leading in the fourth quarter. Their assist percentage, seventh in the league in 2023-24, was 24th, and their defensive rebounding percentage fell from first to eighth. They were particularly bad in the fourth quarter, with a minus-1.8 NET rating and 111.9 offensive rating, ranking 19th in the NBA at the time of the firing. The move didn't change much. Sacramento wound up going 40-42, and lost in the opening round of the play-in tournament to the Mavericks.
What's happening on and off the Garden court
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How do you plan to build this team's depth?
This was one major complaint of Thibodeau, that he relied too heavily on his starters and didn't utilize his reserves nearly enough. The Knicks were last in bench scoring during the regular season last year at 21.7 points (the Lakers were second to last at 26.2). Brown will have the benefit of quality reserves in Clarkson and Yabusele, which was a shortcoming of the Knicks' most recent roster. In Brown's two full seasons with the Kings, his bench was productive, ninth in scoring in 2022-23 and 12th in 2023-24.
Jordan Clarkson provides the Knicks needed depth.
Getty Images
On Monday, the Knicks announced their summer league roster. There weren't any surprises. Last year's draft picks, Pacôme Dadiet, Tyler Kolek and Ariel Hukporti, are on it, along with this year's second-round selection, Mohamed Diawara. Another interesting name is big man James Nnaji. The Knicks acquired his rights from the Hornets as part of the three-team Karl-Anthony Towns trade last offseason. The Nigerian was drafted by the Hornets with pick No. 31 in 2023, but opted to stay in Europe the past two seasons. Now, he is intent on playing in the NBA with the Knicks next season. Their summer league opener is on Friday against the Pistons at 6 p.m.