Mike Brown to get second interview for Knicks head coaching job, source confirms
Sacramento Kings head coach Mike Brown is pictured in the first half of an NBA preseason game against the Utah Jazz on Oct. 15, 2024, in Salt Lake City. Credit: AP
The Knicks are bringing Mike Brown back to be the first coaching candidate to get a second interview.
A league source confirmed that Brown will return this week for his second chance to make his push for the vacant head coaching position, although it was pointed out that others among the first four — Brown, Taylor Jenkins, Micah Nori and James Borrego — could also be brought in for a second interview.
The awkward part of the search remains that the Knicks could not get permission to speak with Dallas coach Jason Kidd. Kidd is one that still hangs in limbo until they hire a new coach with Kidd expected to lose three of his top assistant coaches. His lead assistant, Sean Sweeney, has left to become associate head coach in San Antonio, Jared Dudley is being courted by Cleveland and Denver, while God Shammgod is expected to depart for Orlando.
The Knicks were not granted interviews with any of the five employed coaches they requested permission to speak with and then inquired about South Carolina women’s coach Dawn Staley, which was confirmed to On3 Sports by South Carolina athletic director Jeremiah Donati. It is not clear, however, if they were going to interview Staley for the head coaching position.
Brown was fired by the Kings after 31 games in the just-completed season with a 13-18 record after winning 48 and 46 games in his first two seasons in Sacramento. He has spent nine full seasons as a head coach with the Cavaliers, Lakers and then the Cavaliers again and two partial seasons (this season and a five-game start with the Lakers in 2012-13 when he was let go weeks into the season). He spent six seasons as an assistant with Golden State before taking over in Sacramento in 2022-23.
After his time with Golden State he guided the Kings, who became the No. 1 scoring team in the NBA in his first season.
Brown is a two-time Coach of the Year and reached the NBA Finals in his second season as a head coach in Cleveland, a team led by a young LeBron James.
Brown might be the favorite right now with Jenkins having endured a rough ending in Memphis despite a solid resume in his first head coaching job. He was forced to let go some of his preferred assistants last summer and then was fired himself with just nine games left in the season. Whoever takes the job vacated by the firing of Tom Thibodeau is expected to inherit four assistants from that staff.
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
