NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Knicks have offered their coaching job to Mike Brown and are working to finalize a deal with the two-time NBA Coach of the Year, a person with knowledge of the details said Wednesday.
Brown would replace Tom Thibodeau, who was fired last month despite leading the Knicks to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in 25 years.
Brown had his second interview with the Knicks on Tuesday before the job was offered, the person told The Associated Press.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because details of the search were to remain private.
The plan to hire Brown was first reported by ESPN.
Brown earned his second award as the NBA’s top coach after leading Sacramento to the playoffs in 2022-23 — ending what was the league’s longest postseason drought with its first appearance since 2006 — but the Kings fired him nearly halfway through last season.
He would take over a Knicks team that believes it can contend for the NBA title and made it clear that was the only goal when it made the surprising decision to fire Thibodeau, who like Brown is a two-time winner of the NBA’s Coach of the Year award.
The Knicks quickly identified Brown as a candidate they wanted to speak with, while also discussing the job with former Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins and current assistants James Borrego of New Orleans and Micah Nori of Minnesota before offering the position to Brown.
Brown was honored with his first coaching award when he coached the Cleveland Cavaliers, the team he led to the NBA Finals in 2007 during his first stint with the organization. He also coached the Los Angeles Lakers and is 454-304 in his career.
Brown also won four championships as an assistant coach, three with the Golden State Warriors and one under Gregg Popovich in San Antonio.
His coaching staff will be discussed in the coming days, the person told AP.
Thibodeau led the Knicks to their only sustained success of the 2000s, with four playoff appearances in his five seasons. They reached at least the East semifinals each of the last three seasons and reached 50 wins in both of the last two.
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