New Coach Could Bench Knicks Fan Favorite

The New York Knicks officially welcomed Mike Brown as their newest head coach this week, and though he was reluctant to reveal what he was most excited to alter about the team's makeup, he did provide some thoughts on his biggest priorities entering his next head coaching stint.

His view of basketball has naturally changed over the years across various stops as a lead and assistant coach across the NBA, and when asked how his principles have changed and evolved to suit the modern game, he stated in his introductory press conference that basketball is "about pace and space, that's where the game is, and like I said, if you can't evolve, you're going to get left behind."

This is a common idea seen not just across the league, but held dear by Brown. He shot right back into the NBA's good graces upon winning his second Coach of the Year award during his debut season with the Sacramento Kings, a position he held for two and a half seasons until the team's lack of shooting did him in when they went belly-up after 31 games.

Tom Thibodeau didn't quite hold the same values, an old-school coach with strict principles who couldn't survive antsy Knicks management. They wanted a coach they were certain could contend with the best offensive minds of today, and got one who may not favor some of New York's role players the same way his predecessor did.

All eyes turned to Josh Hart upon hearing Brown's prioritization of pace and space, a high-hustle contributor who lost a bit of his luster in the latter days of this most recent season.

He's not the most consistent shooter, but made up for it in the past with dogged perimeter defense. In these past playoffs, though, his abilities as a regular stopper slipped, resulting in his routinely losing his matchups to the Indiana Pacers that tanked the starting lineup's statistics and eventually lost him the starting 2-guard position he'd long ago locked down.

Even Thibodeau, who played Hart for more minutes on a per-game basis than any other player in the NBA last regular season, ended up rolling with Mitchell Robinson and his guaranteed defense with his back against the wall. Brown, who's much less likely to pack his back court with non-shooters, won't have as long of a leash with Hart, especially with the perimeter-oriented scoring options New York's already added this summer.