MIKE BROWN AND THE KNICKS DEPTH CHART
Mike Brown was introduced as the 32nd Head Coach in the New York Knicks history earlier this week. He also became the third Brown to hold the position. I normally save betting advice for football season, but I am comfortable predicting that by the end of the 2025-26 season, he will have the highest winning percentage of any previous Knicks coach named Brown.
- Hubie Brown (1983-87) 142-202 (.413)
- Larry Brown (2006) 23-59 (.280)
The primary reason for optimism is a roster that returns its top 7 players, while adding two free agents that will give the Knicks a dimension that was missing during last season’s run to the Eastern Conference Finals.
- Jordan Clarkson (33) has provided instant offense off the bench throughout his 11-year career. He won the 6th man of the year back in 2020-21 and has lifetime averages of 16.0 points in 27.7 minutes.
- Guerschon Yabusele (29) returned to the NBA after a 5-year hiatus, by becoming an important player for the injury-riddled Philadelphia 76ers. He averaged 11 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 70 games.
The Knicks currently have 12 players under contract, which makes this week’s Las Vegas Summer League even more important, as the Knicks gauge the progress of the young players vs. veterans that might be willing to sign for the minimum.
Current Depth Chart
PG Jalen Brunson-Miles McBride-Tyler Kolek
SG Mikal Bridges-Jordan Clarkson
SF Josh Hart-Pacome Dadiet
PF OG Anunoby-Guerschon Yabusele
C Karl-Anthony Towns-Mitchell Robinson-Ariel Hukporti
SUMMER LEAGUE HAS NEXT
Returning assistant coach Jordan Brink will lead the Knicks 2025 Las Vegas Summer League roster that will feature the following players:
Rookies
Mohamed Diawara (51st selection, 2025 NBA Draft) – From France where he struck up a friendship with Pacome Dadiet, the Knicks first round selection in 2024.
James Nnaji (31st selection, 2023 NBA Draft) – Acquired by Knicks from the Charlotte Hornets as part of the three-way Karl-Anthony Towns trade.
Second Year Players
Pacome Dadiet (25th selection, 2024 NBA Draft) – Played in 18 regular season games and 2 playoff games his rookie year. Also, averaged 14.9 points in 14 games with the Westchester Knicks.
Ariel Hukporti (58th selection, 2024 NBA Draft) – Played in 25 promising games, including one fateful start when he injured his knee against the Philadelphia 76ers on February 26. He eventually returned to log 5 minutes of garbage time across three playoff games.
Tyler Kolek (34th selection, 2024 NBA Draft) – Had a seven-game stretch from March 22 through April 2 when Jalen Brunson was out in which he had 42 assists in 124 minutes. Summer league is a good chance for him to work on outside shot and defense.
Kevin McCullar Jr (56th selection, 2024 NBA Draft) – He only played 7 minutes across 4 games, but did average 11.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.0 assists in 13 games with the Westchester Knicks.
KNICKS LAS VEGAS SCHEDULE
The Knicks four preliminary games start on Friday, July 11:
- 7-11-25 vs Detroit Pistons, 6p ET (ESPN+, NBA TV)
- 7-13-25 vs Boston Celtics, 5:30p ET (ESPN+, NBA TV)
- 7-15-25 vs Brooklyn Nets, 6p ET (ESPN2)
- 7-17-25 vs Indiana Pacers, 4:30p ET (ESPN2)
The playoffs and consolation games will take place July 19-20.
FINAL WORD ON THIBS
The Knicks reclusive executive team – James Dolan, Leon Rose and William Wesley – still have not revealed why they fired Tom Thibodeau. It’s very likely they never will. Therefore, unless Thibs decides to write a memoir once he’s officially done with coaching, all we have is speculation. Based on the speculative reasons, I wrote on June 3 that while I did not agree with the firing, I understood.
I do want to add one final postscript to that blog post, and the five-year Thibodeau era that resulted in the Knicks erasing 20 years of embarrassment and reestablishing themselves as a marquee NBA franchise.
Last season the Knicks five starters all averaged between 35 minutes (Karl-Anthony Towns) and 37.6 minutes (Josh Hart) per game. While Thibodeau had always leaned on his starters, last year was not just “Thibs being Thibs”. The Knicks had very limited depth, having sacrificed most of it to build their strong starting five.
To illustrate, consider that in the previous three seasons, 6th man Miles McBride had less playing time than fellow bench players Alec Burks, Quentin Grimes, Isaiah Hartenstein, Immanuel Quickley, Derrick Rose and Obi Toppin. Plus, Mitchell Robinson didn’t make his season debut until February 28.
The players that Thibs was supposed to play more, according to fans, pundits and Mikal Bridges, are currently all unsigned free agents:
- Precious Achiuwa
- Cam Payne
- Landry Shamet
- Delon Wright
Alas, the Tom Thibodeau era is officially over, and Mike Brown has inherited those five starters and a stronger bench. What does Thibs think about it?
We’ll have to wait until the book comes out.
ICYMI “Knicks Fire Coach Tom Thibodeau – Would I Have Made the Same Call?
