In his introductory press conference, the Knicks new head coach kept his cards close to his chest as far as strategy and schematics, for the most part at least. When asked how his view on basketball has changed over the years though, Mike Brown delivered a very interesting answer, hinting at a change in style for the Knicks, which could perhaps involve Josh Hart to the bench.
It is important to note that Brown did not explicitly say if the lineup would change, or what it could look like. This is purely speculative based on one of his answers. When he was asked how his view of the game has evolved over his long coaching career, Brown gave a long-winded answer that ended with him saying that today's game "is about pace and space, that's where the game is, and like I said, if you can't evolve, you're going to get left behind."
That concept would have seemed foreign to fans last season. While Tom Thibodeau preached the idea of pace, the Knicks were one of the slowest teams in the league over the last few seasons. Last year they ranked 27th in 3-point volume and rarely optimized their offense to utilize spacing. Instead, Thibodeau often leaned into old-school concepts like defense and rebounding.
Optimizing space means moving Hart to the bench
Hart can push the pace with the best players in the league. He is a madman in transition and always seems to be going a million miles an hour. That said, in order to optimize both space and pace, it would mean shifting Hart to the bench for a shooter like Deuce McBride or even the Knicks' newest addition, Guerschon Yabusele.
SNY's Ian Begley reported that the Knicks were interested in Yabusele coming off of the bench in a lineup featuring both Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson, and while that does sound intriguing, Robinson doesn't space the floor, nor is he the fleetest of foot.
Ultimately, to fit the type of team that Brown described, it would likely require swapping Hart for McBride, a move that Thibodeau never was comfortable making, or even trying for that matter.
A new era in New York
Brown is similar to Thibodeau in many ways. They are both extremely detail-oriented, result-driven, and obsessive over the game. That said, Brown preached collaboration and adaptation during his first appearance in front of a microphone as coach of the Knicks, which was uncommon while Thibodeau was in charge.
Time will tell if the results will follow, but the message Brown delivered in his press conference was a breath of fresh air for the Knicks.