30 days/30 teams: New York Knicks

After going all-in with their draft picks to build a team capable of playing for an NBA title, New York showed one of its last cards. The Knicks thus parted ways with Tom Thibodeau, who led the franchise to the playoffs in four of his five seasons on the bench.

A first conference final since 2000 wasn’t enough for the now-former Gotham coach. Now it’s back to Mike Brown to return the “Big Apple” to the top, 52 years after the last title.

This is big trouble for the Knicks. With Tom Thibodeau, New York has restored the image of a tight and physical team, sometimes rigid in its approach to the game: quite the opposite of style Mike Brown. The coach is known for his closeness with his players and his flexibility to adapt to the qualities of each of them. With the Kings, he was the architect of the league’s best offense in 2023, leading Sacramento to a stunning third-place finish in the West. Freer play, rhythm and taking the initiative, all elements that the Knicks have lacked at times in recent seasons, especially in the playoffs.

And New York has the offensive weapons to offer more variety on offense. Jalen Brunson will again be the leader, both in creation and in finishing. The leader could be one of the big beneficiaries of the arrival of Mike Brown, who does not hesitate to hold his leaders accountable. Karl-Anthony Towns for his part, will be looking to back up his fine first season with his new franchise, and should have more opportunities to showcase his long-range skills.

The workforce base remains unchanged, with Mikal Bridges etc OG Anunobi on the wings, a Swiss army knife Josh Hart and precious “role players” Mitchell Robinson etc Miles McBride.

But after Thibodeau’s method, which pulled the strings on its main players, even if it meant using the bench to a minimum, New York’s replacements could benefit from the arrival of Mike Brown. It’s probably not insignificant if the Knicks rushed to sign nice moves Jordan Clarkson etc Guerschon Yabuseledespite finances already in the red. Even if other French Pacome Dadiet etc Mohammed Diawara it should have a bit of parquet flavor, the rotation has expanded considerably.

Gone is the seven-man rotation like in the last playoffs, which showed its limits against the Pacers. But now everything will depend on the Knicks’ adjustment to the new coach.

SUMMER MOVEMENTS

arrivals: Jordan Clarkson, Mohamed Diawara (draft), Tosan Evbuomwan (2-way), Trey Jamieson III (2-way), Gershon Yabusel

Departures: Precious Achiuva, Cameron Paine, PJ Tucker, Delon Wright

PLAYER TO WATCH: JALEN BRUNSON

A slightly lower scorer last season, Jalen Brunson stepped back a bit to highlight Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges or OG Anunoby. The former Mavs should be used more without the ball, like in Dallas.

Goal: fire open bullets at him in the catch-and-shoot while Jalen Brunson was among the most unassisted players (more than three-quarters of his 2-point shots last season and more than half of his 3-pointers).

Mike Brown spent six seasons in a good school as an assistant to Steve Kerr in Golden State. Jaylen Brunson still isn’t the Stephen Curry of Madison Square Garden, but his 42.3% passing percentage can make him a lot more dangerous if utilized better…

And so take New York’s offense into another dimension … especially at the end of the game, where Tom Thibodeau relied heavily on isolating his playmaker last season.

Average age: 27.2 years

Payroll: $211.7 million (2nd)

IDEAL SCENARIO

Conference semi-finals in 2024, conference finals in 2025… The “logical” progression would be for the Knicks to play for the title at the end of the season. And the opportunity is almost too good. Their two main rivals in the last two seasons, the Pacers and the Celtics, will have to be without their star. With the exception of the Cavaliers, most of the top teams in the East start the year in limbo. It’s up to the Knicks to seize the opportunity.

A less dogmatic offensive game proposed by Mike Brown could unlock the still-underutilized potential of this team, both for its main duo of Brunson and Towns, as well as for its luxury lieutenants Bridges and Anunoby. If New York can inject this amount of craziness and movement into their game with minimal stout defense, the Knicks will be among the strongest teams in the East, if not the strongest.

WORST SCENARIO

In our consultation to establish these previews, the Knicks passed the Cavaliers as number one in their conference. But it was a very, very short time.

An illustration of the small margin that New York has the benefit of to rise as the favorite in the East. Make no mistake, if New York’s leaders have decided to part ways with Tom Thibodeau (even if that means they’re not already thinking about his replacement and are struggling to find a successor for several weeks…), it’s to aim for even more than what the former Bulls and Wolves coach managed to achieve.

With the circumstances of this 2025/26 season, New York has no choice but to shine. And completely changing your training style is not without risk. Mike Brown’s all-around game demands more tactical intelligence from his players than the rigor demanded by Tom Thibodeau.

It may take some time for the transition to occur. The Knicks defense, which wasn’t the most impenetrable last season, could suffer. As for Mike Brown himself, his games will be scrutinized because New York lacks patience, he who has only one NBA Finals.