NBA coaching carousel: What lies ahead for the Knicks' Mike Brown and every new hire

03.07.2025, 06:07 espn.com

The 2025 NBA coaching carousel is complete, as ESPN's Shams Charania has reported that the New York Knicks are expected to hire two-time Coach of the Year Mike Brown, who takes over for the fired Tom Thibodeau.

Thibodeau led the franchise to its best stretch of success since the 1990s -- winning at least one playoff series in three straight seasons and advancing to the conference finals to culminate his five-year run with the team he grew up rooting for -- was not enough for him to get a chance to end New York's 26-year Finals drought and 52-year championship drought next season.

Now, Brown, who was fired by the Sacramento Kings amid a losing streak in late December, will walk into the Knicks job with sky-high expectations.

Brown was the final move in what has been a busy summer for off-the-court moves across the league. The Phoenix Suns fired Mike Budenholzer after the first year of a five-year contract, eventually hiring Cleveland Cavaliers assistant Jordan Ott as their new coach. The Denver Nuggets moved on from Michael Malone, along with general manager Calvin Booth, with less than a week to go in the regular season. Denver removed the interim tag on coach David Adelman in May. Denver's decision to fire Malone came less than two weeks after the Memphis Grizzlies fired longtime coach Taylor Jenkins. Memphis has since removed the interim tag on coach Tuomas Iisalo.

Here's our annual look at the NBA's coaching carousel, with the pros and cons of the jobs and what lies ahead for each new coach.

2024-25 record: 51-31

New coach: Mike Brown

Previous coach: Tom Thibodeau

Lead executive: Leon Rose (hired in 2020)

Positive: Ready-to-win roster, finances

This is the kind of job that coaches dream of. New York has a roster featuring a couple of All-NBA players in Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, a trio of versatile wings in OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart, and a pair of strong reserves in Mitchell Robinson and Miles McBride. New York also boasts the bright lights, a contending roster and open playing time to entice veteran free agents to sign on minimum deals to bolster the franchise's depth.

But the starting five, despite their talent, were outscored by 31 points in 335 minutes in the playoffs and had a negative net rating in 379 minutes from Jan. 1 through the end of the regular season. New York also was 27th in 3-point attempts per game and 26th in pace -- numbers that could potentially change with a different philosophy on the sidelines.

Negatives: Expectations, roster limitations

If the Knicks fired a coach after one of the best stretches of success for the franchise in recent history, the expectations are high for a successor. And New York didn't mince words in its statement announcing the decision to fire Thibodeau: "Our organization is singularly focused on winning a championship for our fans."

Brown will have no doubts about his expected mandate. But he will also need to construct a defense good enough to reach those championship aspirations with both Brunson and Towns on the court -- something Thibodeau was unable to do across six games against the Indiana Pacers in the conference finals. It's also a task that would've been even more difficult against the Oklahoma City Thunder had New York reached the NBA Finals.

If there are any stumbles along the way next season, there will be immediate questions about whether moving on from Thibodeau was the right move.

-- Tim Bontemps

2024-25 record: 36-46 (No. 11 in West)

New coach: Jordan Ott (hired on June 4)

Previous coach: Mike Budenholzer

Lead executive: James Jones (hired in 2018)

Positive: A franchise player, veteran depth

Owner Mat Ishbia's proclamation less than a year ago that "26 out of 29" teams would trade places with the Suns looks even more off base now that the franchise dealt Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets. Phoenix does still have Devin Booker on its roster, plus a young star in Jalen Green who came over in the KD trade. The Suns also focused on big men during the draft, acquiring centers Mark Williams (via trade) and Duke's Khaman Maluach with the No. 10 pick.

Beyond that, Phoenix has solid veteran depth in Bradley Beal, Dillon Brooks, Grayson Allen, Nick Richards and Royce O'Neale, plus a couple of rookie finds in Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro that could form the core of a decent NBA rotation.

Negatives: Instability, plus lack of roster, monetary and draft flexibility

Phoenix is on its fourth coach in as many seasons after firing Budenholzer, who was hired with great fanfare last spring. Ishbia has owned the team for a little over two years and has already fired three coaches.

Overall, the Suns are stuck in a multitude of ways. The team has traded control of its draft picks for the next several seasons and is well over the dreaded "second apron" of the NBA's salary cap, creating a wildly expensive roster with few tools to improve it. Durant was traded, but the return -- Brooks, Green and the pick that became Maluach -- was far less than the massive haul Phoenix sent out for him two and a half years ago. And the future of the other All-Star the Suns traded for, Bradley Beal, remains murky at best.

Who got the job: Jordan Ott

After weeks of interviews, Charania reported that the Suns' search for their next head coach came down to two candidates, both from the Cavaliers: associate coach Johnnie Bryant and assistant Jordan Ott.

Ott had been an NBA assistant coach since 2012 and has been rooted in principles of strong offensive and defensive creativity, player development and toughness, sources told Charania.

After firing Budenholzer on April 14, new GM Brian Gregory led a multiround hiring process that began with more than 15 candidates, sources told Charania. A group of five finalists -- including Ott, Bryant, Miami assistant Chris Quinn, Oklahoma City assistant Dave Bliss and Suns assistant David Fizdale -- had in-person interviews with team officials.

-- Bontemps

2024-25 record: 50-32 (No. 4 in West)

New coach: David Adelman (interim tag removed on May 22

Previous coach: Michael Malone (fired April 8; Adelman took over on interim basis)

Lead executive: None (GM Calvin Booth, promoted in 2020, was also let go)

Positive: Championship-level talent

These kinds of jobs rarely come available. Nikola Jokic lost to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for this season's Most Valuable Player award, but he's nearly universally seen as the best player on the planet. Jamal Murray is an elite pick-and-roll partner and, after struggling in the playoffs, is back to playing at a high level -- over the summer with Team Canada and at the start of this season. Aaron Gordon is a versatile defender who fits perfectly next to Jokic at both ends, and Christian Braun has come on and had a terrific season, putting him into Most Improved Player consideration.

While the Western Conference is deep with contenders, Denver still arguably was set to enter the playoffs as a favorite behind Oklahoma City before the shocking news of Malone's dismissal after 10 years and unparalleled success with the Nuggets.

Negatives: Limited financial and roster flexibility

Denver has never been known to open the checkbook to pay for coaches and executives, but that's a secondary concern to the long-term constraints on trying to keep this team at a championship level. Like most longtime contenders, this is a franchise that has traded away a lot of draft picks and is locked in on long-term contracts. The good part about that is the team's core players are all under contract for at least a couple more years.

Who got the job: David Adelman

After serving as the interim coach since Michael Malone was let go last month, David Adelman, son of Hall of Fame coach Rick Adelman, was promoted to head coach. The 44-year-old Adelman was Malone's assistant for eight seasons and led the Nuggets to a Game 7 against the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in the postseason. He will be part of team owner Stan Kroenke's vision of capitalizing on Jokic's remaining prime years.

-- Bontemps

2024-25 record: 34-48 (No. 13 in West)

New coach: Mitch Johnson

Previous coach: Gregg Popovich (transitioning to full-time role as president of basketball operations)

Lead executive: RC Buford (promoted to CEO in 2019)

Positives: Thrilling young core, loads of assets

San Antonio is the definition of a stable and supportive organization with a history of strong ownership. The Spurs have drafted the Rookie of the Year in back-to-back years with potential superstar Victor Wembanyama and guard Stephon Castle. They had two lottery picks in this year's draft, selecting Dylan Harper (No. 2) and Carter Bryant (No. 14). The Spurs own all their future draft picks, both first and second round, going forward and beyond this year have two additional first-rounders, nine additional second rounders, and first-round pick swaps with the Hawks in 2027, the Mavericks or Wolves in 2030 and the Celtics in 2021. The Spurs also traded for a franchise point guard, De'Aaron Fox, who is in position to sign a long-term contract extension later this year.

Negatives: Market size, ownership spending power, big shoes

Though San Antonio is a growing city, it still is one of the league's smaller markets and has various effects on acquiring players, though the Spurs' organization enjoys an excellent reputation. The ownership has paid just $5 million in luxury tax in the past 13 years and with big contracts coming for Fox and Wembanyama plus the new challenges that come with high payrolls, spending is something to monitor. That said, since the Spurs were last contenders they have taken on new deep-pocketed partners, including billionaire computer magnate Michael Dell and investment firm Sixth Street. There is also the challenge of coming behind Popovich, someone who won five championships and established a massive legacy over the previous 29 years.

Who got the job: Mitch Johnson

Johnson, who was named acting coach after Popovich suffered a mild stroke in November, now ta