Karl-Anthony Cities has been by way of this earlier than.
4 head coaches throughout 9 seasons in Minnesota ready him for each subsequent chapter — and for the change that got here after his first 12 months in New York.
Out went Tom Thibodeau, a well-recognized face from Cities’ Timberwolves days. In got here Mike Brown, able to problem habits and lift the ceiling on a staff with championship ambitions.
“The experiences are always different,” Cities mentioned after follow on Friday. “However Mike is totally different from any coach I’ve ever handled, and his system is totally different than I’ve ever handled.
“But every coach has their different quirks that make them who they are.”
The early returns have been promising — not solely within the playbook, the place Brown’s offensive overhaul has powered New York to a 5-3 file and an undefeated 5-0 begin at house — however within the tone and temperament of the locker room.
Eight video games in, the match between coach and roster already feels actual.
“You can be the best player or the youngest player on the team,” mentioned Mikal Bridges. “He’s going to set you straight — every single guy. Don’t let nobody off the hook. I think it just shows a lot.”
Brown’s definition of management is straightforward — and deeply rooted in a lesson from Kenneth Chenault, the previous American Specific CEO and the primary Black govt to guide a Fortune 500 firm.
“I embrace it. I love it. It tells the tale clearer than a blue sky,” Brown mentioned. “As a leader, you’ve gotta give hope while defining reality. So it doesn’t matter who it is — you’ve gotta keep it real with them. You’ve gotta tell them the truth.”
That directness has grow to be a trademark of Brown’s first season at Madison Sq. Backyard.
Most coaches don’t pull gamers apart mid-game. Brown does.
It’s occurred to almost everybody on the roster — one by way of fifteen. If he sees one thing he doesn’t like, he addresses it instantly. Generally he’ll cease a participant throughout a lifeless ball. Generally he’ll pull him out, clarify the problem, then ship him proper again in.
He doesn’t want to lift his voice to make his level.
“We have not provoked him enough to make him yell at us yet,” mentioned staff captain Jalen Brunson. “He definitely holds people accountable, right then and there. We appreciate that. That’s gonna help us get better.”
Brown’s communication model traces again to his years beneath Gregg Popovich and Steve Kerr — two of the perfect to ever do it. He served on Popovich’s employees in San Antonio from 2000 to 2003, serving to the Spurs seize the 2003 NBA title, then received three extra rings alongside Kerr in Golden State from 2016 to 2022.
“Steve Kerr and Pop — they were the best communicators I’ve been around,” Brown mentioned. “It simply appears actually pure for them, and I don’t suppose they ever felt which you can over-communicate.
“So I attempt to take that from each of them. I’m human — I’m gonna make errors — however I attempt to talk as greatest I can, whether or not it’s in follow, shootaround, or over the course of a sport.
“Because guys have questions. Everybody has questions all the time. Sometimes they may not want to ask because they don’t feel it’s appropriate. So I try to be proactive and let them know what’s going on to erase any doubt they might have in their minds.”
Bridges says Brown’s strategy reminds him of his first NBA coach, Monty Williams — one other communicator who builds connections as a lot as he builds schemes.
“Monty is a little old school with his verbiage,” Bridges mentioned. “And he’s just a little country — they say things a little different down in the south.”
Like Williams, Brown doesn’t simply right gamers after errors — he coaches them by way of reside conditions, typically even after they’ve achieved nothing mistaken.
“Sometimes even if you didn’t do anything wrong, Mike does a great job of that,” Bridges mentioned. “For example, in the game, I think he was taking me out and telling me what the minutes were going to be. He kind of let me know, ‘I’m taking you out right now not because you did anything wrong — it’s just that we’re putting you back at this moment.’ It’s just communication.”
That readability, Bridges says, prevents gamers from spiraling into self-doubt.
“Sometimes you can be playing hard and you don’t know if you messed up on a couple of things,” he mentioned. “Should you get taken out, you’re form of trying round, and it’s like, ‘Did I do something wrong?’
“Verbalizing that gives you confidence. You’re not wondering.”
True to his identify, Brown is delivering categorical outcomes at Madison Sq. Backyard.
On the courtroom, his Knicks are enjoying sooner, capturing extra threes, and sharpening the offense that when stalled in spurts.
Off the courtroom, the message is common — and it’s one phrase all the locker room repeats: accountability.
“Accountability is high — real high,” Bridges mentioned. “He doesn’t really yell, but he gets on you. But it’s all love, and it’s all things you know you should be doing. You kind of know that you should be better. He’s just talking to you.”
