Knicks Announce Signing of Former Lakers Player

There was a time when making the playoffs seemed like a foreign concept for the New York Knicks. Now, they're not satisfied with being two wins from the NBA Finals.

The Knicks fired head coach Tom Thibodeau after leading them to their first Eastern Conference Finals appearance since 1999. The Salem State alum inherited a New York team in 2020 that had missed the playoffs for seven straight seasons, but won Coach of the Year after getting them to the first round that year.

The team then missed the playoffs the following season before making second-round appearances in 2023 and 2024. That led to 2025, when the Knicks fell to the Indiana Pacers in six games during the conference finals despite having homecourt advantage.

One of Thibodeau's issues was minutes distribution. For example, he played guard Josh Hart almost twice the amount as fellow guard Miles McBride in the playoffs despite Hart's offensive limitations. The 30-year-old scored less than 10 points in four of the six conference finals games, and they could've used McBride as a spark plug off the bench. He averaged 9.5 points across 24.9 minutes per game in the regular season.

While Thibodeau undeniably built a contender in New York, the organization decided to hire someone else to get it over the hump. That person was two-time Coach of the Year Mike Brown, whom the Sacramento Kings fired in December.

Additionally, the Knicks re-signed forward Mikal Bridges and signed veterans Jordan Clarkson, Guerschon Yabusele to fill out the bench. They also signed guards Landry Shamet, Malcolm Brogdon, and Garrison Matthews to training camp deals. Shamet averaged 5.7 points on 46.1 percent shooting (39.7 percent 3 PT) across 15.2 minutes for them last season.

On top of that, New York announced a new move on Tuesday, via Knicks PR.