The Knicks are interviewing former head coaches Taylor Jenkins and Mike Brown this week for their head coaching vacancy. According to at least one insider, Jenkins may be emerging as the favorite in the search. While Jenkins brings plenty of positives to the table, Brown's experience running a team built around two offensive stars with defensive weaknesses makes him the better option.
The Knicks' search for their next head coach has been picked apart by fans and pundits alike. On one hand, it was a publicly humiliating process in which the Knicks were denied interviews with five head coaches who are currently under contract with other teams.
On the other hand, this is one of the most important decisions that the organization has had to make in decades. Can we really fault them for swinging for the fences? They identified that Tom Thibodeau was the problem and dismissed him. After that, the plan was simply to find someone better, regardless of how the fans or the media interpreted it.
Why Brown is the right option
I'm in agreement that the Knicks had reached their potential with Thibodeau in the driver's seat. Relieving him from his position was the first step. The next step is the hard part, identifying someone who is better qualified to get them over the hump.
Mike Brown is that someone. The reason is simple: he is an offensive-minded coach who has a proven resume of being able to get the most out of a roster on that end of the floor during his time leading the Sacramento Kings.
There is one glaring similarity between those Kings' rosters and the Knicks' current roster. Both are constructed around a guard-center pairing. For the Knicks, it is Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson, while in Sacramento, it was De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis.
Mike Brown's offense
Browns' best season in Sacramento, out of the two and a half seasons he was the head coach, came in the 2022-23 season when he was voted Coach of the Year. That season, the Kings had an offensive rating of 118.6, the best in the NBA.
Furthermore, Sabonis set 887 picks for Fox, the seventh-most out of any duo in the league. The Knicks had a pick-and-roll problem last year between Brunson and Towns. Whatever was causing it will need to be identified and corrected for the Knicks to be able to get to their full potential.
The Knicks need to lean all the way into offense to get the most out of this roster, and Brown gives you the best shot at doing that.