The Knicks are counting on Mike Brown to do something he's never done before
One month after ending Tom Thibodeau's five-year run — by far the franchise's most successful stretch of the century — the Knicks are expected to replace him with Mike Brown, marking his fifth time being hired as an NBA head coach.
Brown, 55, most recently spent parts of three seasons in Sacramento, where he ended the Kings' 17-year playoff drought in his first year with the team, but was fired in December, 31 games into the season.
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Though Brown, a two-time Coach of the Year recipient, has earned four championship rings as an assistant beside Gregg Popovich (San Antonio) and Steve Kerr (Golden State), his only trip to the Finals as a head coach came in 2007, when the Cavaliers were swept by the Spurs.
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San Francisco Chronicle
21 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Warriors near decision on Jonathan Kuminga, courting free agent Al Horford
The games for the California Classic start Saturday at Chase Center as free agency continues in the NBA. Even if it doesn't seem like that for the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors haven't made a transaction this week, though free agents are permitted to negotiate with other clubs, as they sort through forward Jonathan Kuminga 's restricted free agency and wait for free-agent center Al Horford's decision. Kuminga is free to secure an offer sheet that the Warriors would then be permitted to match or negotiate with them a contract extension. There's also the potential of a sign-and-trade. Horford is a prime target for the Warriors, league sources confirmed to the Chronicle, but the five-time All-Star big man — most recently of the Boston Celtics and reportedly also considering retirement — isn't expected to make a decision this weekend. The NBA's transaction moratorium lifts at 9 a.m. Sunday and the Warriors are working with a $170.5-million payroll (for nine players) against a luxury tax line of $187.9 million and restrictive (for roster building) aprons $195.9 million and $207.8 million respectively. A team source told the Chronicle they're 'still working through things.' Kuminga, a bouncy forward who has played four seasons for Golden State, is clear to negotiate at his own pace and mine the market as he sees fit. Interested suitors reportedly include the Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, Brooklyn Nets, Milwaukee Bucks, Washington Wizards and Sacramento Kings, who offered the Warriors second-round draft picks with guard Devin Carter and forward Dario Saric, according to The Athletic. In a prospective sign-and-trade transaction for Kuminga, The Athletic reported, the Warriors would covet a talented young player with a first-round draft pick. Kuminga, 22, was tendered a qualifying offer (one-year, $7.9 million with a $22.9 million cap hold) to trigger restricted free agency after 258 games for Golden State in which he averaged 12.5 points (on 50.7% shooting, 33.2% 3-point shooting) and 4.6 rebounds. He's part of a restricted free-agent class that includes Chicago Bulls guard Josh Giddey, Philadelphia 76ers wing Quentin Grimes and Brooklyn Nets guard Cam Thomas, all of whom played prominent roles last season for their respective clubs, but for which there has been a slow-moving market so far. In 47 games in 2024-25, Kuminga averaged 15.3 points (45.4% shooting, 30.5% 3-point shooting) and 4.6 rebounds while battling a severe midseason right ankle sprain. He also averaged 24.3 points (55.4% shooting, 38.9% 3-point shooting) his last four playoff games (Western Conference semifinal losses to the Minnesota Timberwolves) despite initially being left out of from Golden State' postseason rotation. Speaking after the NBA draft about Kuminga's restricted free agency, Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy said 'we'd like to get something figured out as soon as possible, but (it can drag and) that's the way it goes I think sometimes in restricted free agency. Not going to stress about it too much, but I think the main thing is making the right decision, figuring the whole thing out, whether that's day one or day ten or whatever it is. Got to be prepared to take it as far as it goes.' Horford is the top remainning available free-agent center, and holds career averages of 12.9 points (50.9% shooting, 37.7% 3-point shooting), 7.9 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.1 blocks over 18 seasons. He played the last four seasons for the Celtics, serving as a part-time starter on a team that winning the 2023-24 NBA title. At 39, he makes an impact on both ends, offensively a connective floor spacer (40.9% from 3-point range the last three seasons) and defensively a positional low-post anchor who situationally switches onto guards and wings. The Warriors also have interest in Damina Lillard, the star guard who is soon to be a free agent, a league source confirmed. Lillard will be rehabilitating a torn left Achilles sustained in April while playing for the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the playoffs against the Indiana Pacers. The Bucks are waiving (and stretching) Lillard's contract so they can sign big man Myles Turner away from the Pacers. The Oakland native and nine-time All-Star averaged 24.9 points (44.8% shooting, 37.6% 3-point shooting), 4.7 rebounds and 7.1 assists in 2024-25, his second season with Milwaukee. A career 25.1-points-per-game scorer in 13 seasons, Lillard is open to signing with a suitor this offseason, but he isn't in a rush to make a decision, per veteran NBA reporter Chris Haynes.
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
New Knicks signing Guerschon Yabusele speaks on why he joined team
Guerschon Yabusele thinks he'll fit right in with his new team. In an interview with SKWEEK, the Knicks' newest addition sounded off on why he took his talents to the Big Apple. 'I think the Knicks was a great decision,' Yabusele said. 'I feel like their team really matched my DNA. To fight, to play hard, to be kind of like the underdogs who go and fight every night.' Yabusele, 29, added that he was impressed by the Knicks' team chemistry last season. Former Philadelphia 76ers forward Guerschon Yabusele (28) controls the ball against the Milwaukee Bucks in the fourth quarter at Wells Fargo Center. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect 'It's a couple of teams that we played against, and I was looking at them like 'Oh my god, this team plays good together.' They're a good team. I can tell it's a good group of guys,' he said. The 6-foot-8 Frenchman was drafted 16th overall by the Celtics in 2016, but appeared in just 74 games over two seasons before heading to Europe. Yabusele's excellent play during the 2024 Paris Olympics for the French national team helped him return to the NBA on a deal with the 76ers. In 70 games for Philadelphia last season, Yabusele averaged 11 points and 5.6 rebounds per game while shooting a solid 50.1 percent overall and 38 percent from deep. Prior to re-joining the NBA, Yabusele was one of the best basketball players in all of Europe. He spent three seasons in Real Madrid from 2021-2024 and starred on a 2023 team that won the EuroLeague Championship, the most prestigious basketball title outside of the NBA. Philadelphia 76ers forward Guerschon Yabusele (28) drives against Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert (27). IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect Yabusele also won a Spanish ACB league title in 2024 and 2022 with Madrid, a league considered to be among the best domestically outside of America. His return to the league landed him a two-year deal with the Knicks worth roughly $12 million with a player option in the second season. Yabusele is expected to get major minutes in the Knicks' frontcourt rotation behind Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson. 'I can't wait to start,' he said during the interview. 'It's the right place at the right time.' In addition to bringing in Yabusele, the Knicks also named Mike Brown the franchise's new head coach and signed veteran guard Jordan Clarkson to a free agent deal.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Wizards HC Explains What Drew Them To Texas Star Tre Johnson
Wizards HC Explains What Drew Them To Texas Star Tre Johnson originally appeared on Athlon Sports. While the Washington Wizards did not get to pick in the top five of the 2025 NBA draft, they still came out of the draft with a star. Former Texas star Tre Johnson was selected by the Wizards with the sixth pick in the draft. He will be expected to help the team after they went 18-64 last season and finished second last in the league. Advertisement On Thursday, head coach Brian Keefe shared his thoughts on why they chose to pick Tre Johnson. "Really thrilled to add Tre to our group, to our organization," Keefe said. "First of all a guy who loves basketball, who loves his craft, who is a gym rat, who works. From all that work is a guy who's obviously his shooting numbers, how he shoots the ball. A little more than that, too, is he's an underrated playmaker seeing the game. "But it's really his pursuit of his craft was really drawn us, how he's really intentional about how he wants to be and how he gets better. Those are the things that stood out about Tre. We're really excited to have him." Tre Johnson stands with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected as the sixth pick by the Washington Penner-Imagn Images Tre Johnson played one season in college before declaring for the NBA draft. In his freshman year at Texas, he averaged 19.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game. Advertisement Johnson is now joining a Wizards team that has been among the worst in the NBA for the past several seasons. It remains to be seen if he can be the savior the team is looking for. Related: Kevin Durant Sends Blunt Message About His Time With Thunder This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 4, 2025, where it first appeared.
