Veteran bench boss Mike Brown is emerging as the favorite to land the New York Knicks’ head coach job, and has a second meeting scheduled with team president Leon Rose and Co.
The 55-year-old has held positions with the Cleveland Cavaliers twice, the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Sacramento Kings — the latter with which he won the 2023 NBA Coach of the Year.
Having also won the award in 2009 with the Cavaliers, Brown holds a career 455-304 record with seven playoff appearances and one Eastern Conference title in his nine full seasons as a head coach.
He had initially interviewed for the Knicks’ vacant head-coaching role in 2020, but was beaten out by Tom Thibodeau, who helped reverse the fortunes of a mediocre franchise. But despite leading them to their first Eastern Conference Finals appearance in 25 years, Thibodeau was shown the door after showing an inability to better manage the minutes of his star players.
As it stands, Brown is one of three candidates who have interviewed with the Knicks, alongside former Memphis Grizzlies boss Taylor Jenkins and current Minnesota Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori.
James Borrego, who is currently an assistant with the New Orleans Pelicans and once was the head coach of the Charlotte Hornets, has been a name linked with New York. However, NBA insider Marc Stein reported Tuesday morning that he could be a top assistant on Brown’s coaching staff, should the organization move in that direction.
It finally appears that the Knicks’ coaching search is coming to a head — a process that has already taken nearly a month following Thibodeau’s dismissal. New York was denied on multiple fronts to interview current head coaches around the league, and likely their top choices, including Jason Kidd of the Dallas Mavericks, Chris Finch of the Minnesota Timberwolves, and Ime Udoka of the Houston Rockets.
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