Mike Brown will have a second meeting with the New York Knicks for their head coaching job and has emerged as a strong candidate, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania on Monday.
Brown, 55, was the unanimous choice for NBA Coach of the Year in his first season with the Sacramento Kings in 2022-23, when he helped the team end the longest playoff drought in NBA history at 16 seasons. Brown had a 107-88 record in two-plus years in Sacramento with a winning mark in both of his full seasons before being fired in December, less than halfway through his third season.
He previously had two stints as coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers and spent one-plus season as the Los Angeles Lakers coach. He has a 455-304 career record and has made the playoffs in seven of his nine full seasons. He won Coach of the Year twice, also getting the award in Cleveland in 2008-09.
Brown interviewed for the Knicks job in 2020 and made a strong impression before New York hired Tom Thibodeau. Now Brown is vying to replace Thibodeau, who was fired after he led the team to its first Eastern Conference finals in 25 years.
Brown is one of three candidates to interview for the Knicks’ job, along with former Memphis Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins and Minnesota Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori.
The Knicks also have expressed interest in former Charlotte Hornets coach and current New Orleans Pelicans assistant James Borrego, sources told Charania.
Before the Knicks formally began interviews, several teams rejected requests by New York to speak to their head coaches, including the Dallas Mavericks (Jason Kidd), Houston Rockets (Ime Udoka) and Timberwolves (Chris Finch).