Mike Brown is already doing plenty to prove he’s not Tom Thibodeau. But he still needs to do one more thing: prioritize the development of youth whenever he can.
So, during garbage time.
To be sure, Brown’s New York Knicks are already dramatically different from the Thibs-coached iteration. They are taking (way) more threes. Jalen Brunson is spending more time off the ball, and myth-busting in the process. The rotation stretches deeper. Five-out lineups are a thing. Mikla Bridges isn’t pouting. More players have a license to dribble the ball up the floor. Extra passes are being thrown.
This list goes on. Yet, the Knicks are also paying the piper for last season’s complete and total lack of player development. Tyler Kolek doesn’t look ready for regular action. Ditto for Ariel Hukporti. Pacome Dadiet is something less than afterthought.
It is easy to write off the importance of getting late-draft swings minutes on a team so heavily invested in immediate results. At the same time, New York has battled injuries (Josh Hart, Mitchell Robinson), uneven play (Guerschon Yabusele), and a dearth of reserve playmaking to start the season. It has thus far been unable to consistently rely upon any semblance of youth to help smooth out those wrinkles.
That is not on Brown. Figuring out whether that can change is.
New York’s kids need more garbage-time run
The end of New York’s victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves included a feel-good capper: Rookie wing Mohamed Diawara scored his first NBA bucket. The moment was a personal milestone, and also representative of what the Knicks need to do more often.
Brown just about emptied the young-player clip with 2:26 remaining in the fourth quarter. That is when Diawara, Dadiet, and Hukporti checked into the game. Kolek was already on the floor, but wasn’t inserted until the 3:18 mark of the final frame.
Measured against what Thibs would have done (i.e. probably left the starters in), Brown was ahead of the curve. Viewed against what the Knicks need, he should have taken advantage of a game that had already spiraled out of Minnesota’s reach, and given run to the kids earlier.
There have been opportunities for more development, too. New York has played around 27.8 percent of its fourth-quarter possessions while leading by more than 15 points, according to PBP Stats. And yet, Kolek is the only “kid” who has logged more than 11 total minutes in the final frame.
The Knicks have to think about the future
This all sounds nitpicky. And it is akin to splitting hairs. But the Knicks are toeing fine financial lines, and slated to get more expensive next season. Hitting on cost-controlled fliers is an absolute must if they want the window with this core to sustain as long as possible.
You’re not going to have a sense for where these players stand if they don’t get playing time. No one’s saying Brown should mix in reps for Dadiet during tight games. New York is talented enough that it will pull away by the middle of the fourth quarter semi-regularly. Those minutes need to be treated as crown-jewel developmental opportunities.
If for some reason leads start to crack, Brown can go back to his core lineups. To that end, stomaching struggles is part of the garbage-time value. The Knicks aren’t going to hit on everybody. Dadiet and Kolek appear to be proof. That’s the entire point. They need that proof, for better or worse, as soon as possible.
The jury is still out on how Brown will approach player development. But New York will be much better off if this is another area in which he proves to be a drastic contrast to Thibs.