Knicks HC Excited For Star's Two-Way Potential

Mike Brown was courted and eventually signed by the New York Knicks as the man tasked with taking the team over the hump and delivering that long-awaited championship, a realistic expectation following last season's run to the Eastern Conference Finals and the strategic summer of spending that closely followed.

He'll be given a wide assortment of offensive toys to utilize and combine, hand-gifted a franchise scorer in Jalen Brunson along with all of the star-level and role-playing shooters and contributors he could ask for. Championship-contenders are expected to assert themselves on both sides of the ball, though, and Brown's far from abandoning the defensive end of the floor.

That's where he's expecting Mikal Bridges to come in, the team's X-factor to scaring anyone on defense. OG Anunoby is expected to continue holding his weight as one of the most versatile-defending forwards in the NBA, but adding another All-Defense-caliber stopper in Bridges completely translates the Knicks.

After all, he was arguably the league's premier defensive wing in the league just a few years ago, finishing as the Defensive Player of the Year runner-up just four years ago. He's still in his 20s and hasn't suffered a single injury worthy of taking him out of a game since, and Brown recognizes the tools he has to bounce back.

"He’s one of the best chasers that I’ve been around," the coach said. "So if you’ve got a guy that’s flying off of screens, he’s got a knack to navigate through screens and chase guys. And same with guys that play the pick-and-roll game. He’s long, so even if he gets cracked on a pick-and-roll a little bit, his will to want to pursue and especially contest from behind at that length is extremely, extremely impactful."