Knicks Guard Opens Up About New Coach Hiring

Consensus around the New York Knicks' decision to hire Mike Brown as their next head coach seems to have settled that the franchise, long embroiled in on- and off-the-court incompetency, has somehow managed to land the plane in replacing Tom Thibodeau.

Their plan wasn't always clear, but they've now provided an Eastern Conference Finalist with one of the most creative offensive minds on the open market. He'll challenge the franchise stars and shake up last year's formula, but everything he does will be an attempt to take advantage of the wide-open Eastern Conference using last season's momentum.

Knicks guard Miles McBride spoke with the Today Show on Monday morning with his thoughts regarding the Brown hire.

“We’re excited," McBride said. "I feel like the relationship he’s already started to build with me and my other teammates have just been amazing. Already reaching out to us. It’s just introductions, so nothing huge about basketball yet but it’s going to be exciting."

"Deuce" McBride, a longtime backup behind Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart in the New York backcourt, saw his minutes drop as the Knicks creep closer to reaching their first NBA Finals appearance in nearly three decades. The established Brown, much more likely to use all of the weapons at his disposal than the bench-averse Thibodeau, is guaranteed to make things interesting in debuting with the Knicks.

The team went out and spent on free agents in preparing for their upcoming title chase, buying a few more bench pieces to bolster the top-heavy rotation that held the team back in the spring. McBride notched over 24 minutes per game last season as the first guard off the bench, but will be tasked with much less of a burden with Jordan Clarkson joining the bench mob.

The shooting and defending McBride will still play an important piece in the Knicks' puzzle as they step into inner-circle contender status, and he sounds ready to help implement some change.