Fresh off of their first Eastern Conference Finals appearance in a quarter of a century, the New York Knicks brought Mike Brown in to be their head coach. The word "collaborative" got unforeseen run in the world of sports last summer as Leon Rose and James Dolan searched for a coach more amenable to suggestions and change. That search eventually led them to Brown.
It didn't take long for the coach to put a plethora of collaborative traits on full display. Brown played second-year guard Tyler Kolek on opening night and didn't take long to trust rookie Mo Diawara with playing time. And in front of the media, the Knicks' head coach made a habit of crediting assistants — by name — for contributions of any size.
Part of Brown's penchant for crediting his assistants was openly lobbying for them to earn promotions elsewhere in the league. He bittersweetly got his wish as Jordan Brink, New York's director of video services and player development, is off to join Tiago Splitter's Chicago Bulls.
Now, Brown will face the other side of landing his assistants better gigs — needing to replace them.
Jordan Brink's Bulls departure is Mike Brown's next Knicks "challenge"
When Stan Van Gundy was head coach of the Detroit Pistons in 2015, he brought Brink into the NBA as one of his assistants. That was the beginning of the coach's NBA journey, which led him to the very top of the mountain in 2026.
Just months before the Knicks' championship win, Van Gundy credited Brink during an NBA on Prime broadcast of Knicks/Pistons on February 6. The longtime leader of men lauded his work in charge of New York's coach's challenges, then kept his endorsement simple.
"That's not the only thing he does. This guy can really coach, and is a future star."
After serving as coach's challenge coordinator for Tom Thibodeau, Brink stayed in the role under Mike Brown. And like Van Gundy said, he thrived in it.
The Knicks excelled at coach's challenges, again, and were the beneficiaries of Brink's most pivotal call in Game 2 of the NBA Finals. The officials had deemed, in the moment, that OG Anunoby had turned the ball over. Once Brink had his say, Anunoby was shooting free throws. Three of them.
Now, Brown is facing an entirely new challenge — pun certainly intended. He doesn't just need to replace Brink, either. The Knicks also lost Carson Shanks, another assistant coach who saw his contract expire at the end of Game 5 against the Spurs.
The second apron is forcing NBA teams to do much more than excel at drafting talented players. They have to be able to do it again, once that player leaves for a raise in pay or offensive responsibility.
The Knicks are going to face the same challenges with the inherently-desirable members of their championship-winning staff. Luckily for them, Brown seems to be the guy for the job. He assembled a title-winning crew of coaches on his first go-around in the Big Apple, with some help from Leon Rose and the organization.
As New York looks to defend their pair of titles, he just has to do it again.
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