Knicks fans mystified by Mike Brown replacing Tom Thibodeau in so-called lateral move

The New York Knicks concluded a weeks-long search for their next head coach on Wednesday, officially offering the job to two-time NBA Coach of the Year Mike Brown. With four rings across assistant stints in San Antonio and Golden State, Brown brings plenty of invaluable experience to the Knicks organization. He has been the clear frontrunner for weeks now.

Brown most recently coached the Sacramento Kings from for 2.5 seasons, starting in 2022. He was fired midway through this past campaign after Sacramento's defense fell apart and he lost the locker room. Not long after, De'Aaron Fox was traded for Zach LaVine and Sacramento's implosion began.

It's hard to blame Brown for how things unfolded in Sactown. That is a notoriously cursed franchise with terrible management, starting at the tiptop with ownership. Brown likes to challenge his players; he operates with an old-school fire and competitive drive, which should help fans warm up quickly. There's plenty of Thibs energy in how Mike Brown likes to do things.

That said, despite plenty of experience and success over the years, not every Knicks fan is sold on the new hire. Thibs did lead New York to the conference finals for the first time in 25 years, after all.

Knicks fans express their feelings over Mike Brown replacing Tom Thibodeau

While Thibs was undeniably successful and beloved in New York, this whole "lateral move" narrative around Brown does not quite land. For all his strengths, Thibs' flaws were equally well-documented. More than playing guys too hard, Thibs famously went away from the Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns pick-and-roll midseason for... no apparent reason. He never made the most of a very talented offensive roster and it was glaringly apparent in the Pacers series, as Indy's defense put New York in the hurt locker.

Mike Brown led Sacramento to the No. 1 offense in basketball a couple years ago with De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis. Just imagine what he can do with an upgraded roster in New York. The Knicks are about to ramp up the pace and lean a lot more on the unique combined gravity of Brunson-KAT actions. We shouldn't see much, if any decline on defense either. Brown runs a tight ship on both ends, whereas the Knicks' defensive execution under Thibs was not as pitch-perfect as one might expect given his reputation.

Brown has a complicated track record. He won a lot of games with Cleveland in the aughts, but was fired in a vain attempt to appease LeBron James, who left for Miami shortly afterward. That put Brown with the Lakers, where he was handed a losing hand with Dwight Howard, Steve Nash and Kobe Bryant — and fired five games into his second season with the organization as a result. Not really his fault, but alas. He went back to Cleveland, but was fired again after a single losing season. That led to a long, fruitful stint as Steve Kerr's top assistant before landing in Sacramento.

By and large, Brown's so-called failures can be pinned more on ownership and roster construction than his own shortcomings. He's not a perfect coach, of course, and it's clear his no-nonsense attitude was a source of strain in the Kings locker room (and the Cleveland locker room years ago). But the Knicks are used to Thibs, who affects a similarly blunt style of coaching. So this should work.

Knicks fans... get excited! This is a win for the organization.