During his time coaching the Sacramento Kings, Mike Brown dreamed of landing OG Anunoby, then a member of the Toronto Raptors, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Anunoby, of course, was eventually dealt to the Knicks instead. Now, with Brown officially the Knicks' head coach, he will finally have the versatile wing at his disposal.
Slater, speaking with The Athletic's Fred Katz, reminded fans of Brown's desires to land Anunoby, saying, "Mike Brown spent years searching for any type of wing help; he wanted OG Anunoby via trade before the Knicks got him...He was trying to find length and strength on the wing."
Brown now gets his dream acquisition, along with a plethora of other wings in Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, and Guerschon Yabusele. The new question becomes how he will deploy the talent on his roster.
Brown has lineup versatility
Under Tom Thibodeau, Knicks fans became painfully accustomed to the same starting lineup. Jalen Brunson, Bridges, Hart, Anunoby, and Karl-Anthony Towns logged a league-leading 940 minutes together during the regular season last year.
Despite it never feeling like the roster fully clicked together, the Knicks still reached the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 25 years. The talent is there; they have added depth in Yabusele and Jordan Clarkson. Now Brown needs to push the right buttons to make it work.
Brown didn't reveal what his starting lineup would be during his introductory press conference, and he has several directions he could go in. The first is running out the same starting lineup from last season. The second would be running a double-big lineup involving Towns and Mitchell Robinson, which Thibodeau eventually turned to in the playoffs.
The other option, which I believe to be the right one, is shifting Hart to the bench in favor of Deuce McBride.
Optimizing pace and space
We know that Brown loves to play fast. In his opening press conference, he stressed that today's game is dictated by both pace and space. To optimize both would mean sitting Hart in favor of a player who allows them to space the floor while increasing the tempo, something that McBride allows.
One thing seems certain, though. Brown will try multiple different lineup combinations to determine what works the best. The days of Thibodeau's stubborn ways are in the past. If the Knicks don't have what it takes to win a championship, it will not be for lack of trying.