What does New York Knicks head coach Mike Brown have in common with Kevin Durant, Desmond Bane, Cameron Johnson, and Deandre Ayton? They make up the NBA's five most important additions of the offseason...if you ask ESPN.
Chris Herring and Kevin Pelton compiled a list over at the Worldwide Leader of fresh faces who will make the biggest difference with their new teams. Everyone from free agents and trade acquisitions to coaches and draft picks were eligible for inclusion. Brown sits in fourth place, just behind Johnson (No. 3), Bane (No. 2), and Durant (No. 1).
Not only that, but New York’s head honcho is the sole coach to make the final cut. Finishing fourth also puts him ahead of players like Ayton (No. 5), Myles Turner (No. 6), Kristaps Porzingis (No. 7), and even Cooper Flagg (No. 8)! Talk about pressure.
Mike Brown is under more pressure than any other head coach
Herring isn’t mincing words when it comes to the burden Brown will shoulder for the Knicks.
“Perhaps no coach in the league will face as much title-or-bust pressure as Brown this season,” he writes. “One indication of that: Upon announcing the decision to fire Brown's predecessor, Tom Thibodeau, Knicks president Leon Rose said, ‘Our organization is singularly focused on winning a championship for our fans.’”
There’s something unsettlingly poetic about New York voluntarily raising its own stakes. Other franchises might be willing to bask in the afterglow of their most successful season of the past quarter-century, or be sure to taper expectations as a new head coach gets acclimated. The Knicks are instead ratcheting up the pressure index.
We didn’t even need Rose’s press release to know it, either. New York changed very little about its roster over the offseason. That itself is a subtle, if not outright, statement. The front office believes it has the bones of a contender in place. Brown is the one being saddled with piecing it all together.
The stakes don’t get much higher. They may not get any higher.
The Knicks are betting everything on Mike Brown
The Knicks have zero financial flexibility, and must reconcile with the Second Apron Reaper as early as next season. They cannot trade a first-round pick until next summer. And they just fired a head coach that led them to their first conference finals since 2000.
There is no light recalibration if Brown and the team underachieve in 2025-26. Wholesale changes will be the mandate. That could include shipping out core players. It could entail ditching the current front office regime. It could even result in moving on from Brown himself. Everything and anything will be on the table.
This is a gamble by the Knicks, in no uncertain terms. It’s also a testament to Mike Brown. They clearly see him as someone who can unlock the offense, the stars, and most critically, their championship equity.
And as the latest ESPN ranking proves, they’re not alone.