Mike Brown’s past ‘values’ say what’s in store for Knicks players
The inmates won’t be running the asylum under new Knicks coach Mike Brown.
That’s not to say that was the case under former coach Tom Thibodeau, although some players were given far more rope than others.
But one of the hallmarks of Brown is that he will hold everyone to a certain standard.
It was the case in Sacramento, where he wasn’t afraid to publicly criticize players such as star guard De’Aaron Fox.
“In general, I think that is part of my job,” he said during his introductory news conference at the MSG Training Center in Tarrytown on Tuesday afternoon. “It’s one of my values, it’s accountability, but not just for players. Even for myself, I expect people to hold me accountable. But at the end of the day, it’s about relationships.”
Brown was fired by the Kings 31 games into last season, with the team off to an ugly 13-18 start, after leading them to a combined 94 wins in his first two seasons.
He wasn’t afraid to express his high expectations of his players to the media, even if it came across as criticism. Thibodeau rarely singled out a player’s shortcomings publicly.
After a Nov. 30 loss to the Trail Blazers, Brown said he was “extremely disappointed in our guys’ ability to mentally come into a game like this and lock in.” He said they were “really soft and careless with the basketball.”
Following a loss to the Pistons, the Kings’ fifth straight in late December and the defeat that led to Brown’s dismissal, he went after Fox for not following the defensive game plan of fouling before Jaden Ivey could get up a 3-point shot.
Brown didn’t know at the time he would soon be out of a job.
In his first year with the Kings, Brown had players sign “accountability contracts” in which their roles were clearly defined and their responsibilities outlined.
“It’s about the trust that I talked about,” Brown said. “Once you grow those relationships, then you’re going to talk openly about anything that you need to [do] in the direction that you need to go. I’m going to be open and honest with them and I’m sure they’re going to be open and honest with me.”