Adjustment period predicted for Knicks star

The New York Knicks are entering a new era. For the past five seasons, Tom Thibodeau has been molding the franchise into his image. However, after parting ways with the team in the summer, Mike Brown will be tasked with implementing his own style of basketball.

New York Knicks star may go through adjustment period

According to ESPN's Tim Bontemps, that could lead to a period of adjustment for Jalen Brunson, who thrived in Thibodeau's slow and methodical system.

"Brunson is a tremendous player, of course, and will remain a focal point of the Knicks' offense," Bontemps wrote. "However, Brown has talked about both playing much faster and incorporating more ball movement into his offense in New York, much like he did with Sacramento the past few seasons. Brunson, on the other hand, has seemed to prefer playing at a slower pace, and the ball has constantly been in his hands under Thibodeau."

Brunson is at his best when running the offense in the half-court. He ranked fifth in the NBA for touches per game last season (88.8) and fourth in the league for possessions as a pick-and-roll ball-handler per outing (11.8). 

Tasking Brunson with sharing the ball more and operating without the rock in his hands for stretches will undoubtedly lead to a learning curve. And while he's more than capable of fulfilling that type of role, Brown may be taking away the upside of someone who was just voted among the 10 best players in the world. 

Mike Brown recently discussed how New York Knicks will play

Brown addressed the media on Wednesday, where he began to explain his vision for how the Knicks will play and the principles he wants to instill in the team.

"I want to get to a point where we can play conceptually and everybody's on the same page," Brown said. "What I mean by that is our staples are really important for us, starting with pace, spacing, paint touches, quick decisions, ball reversals. Those things are extremely important with us...Play conceptually without calls, in my opinion, is to your advantage because the defense doesn't know what's coming...Implementing that is going to take a little bit of time...They're going to see matchups and they're just going to want the ball in this guy's hands or that guy's hands and want to go score." 

It's clear Brown is searching for an egalitarian offense. He doesn't want one player to dominate the offense and make it easy for defenses to hone in. The ball will move more frequently, with speed and precision. Brunson will be the biggest swing factor in this shift, as if he struggles to adapt to that style of play, the Knicks' ceiling may not reach a championship level. 

Brown is an experienced head coach. He will understand the need to find a balance. However, Brunson will also need to make concessions; otherwise, the partnership will falter right out of the gate.