As the New York Knicks begin their Mike Brown era, former college basketball coach Tom Crean weighed in on how the Jalen Brunson-led Eastern Conference contender can progress.
Despite winning 51 games and securing its first conference finals berth in 25 years, New York fired veteran coach Tom Thibodeau after five seasons, replacing him with Brown. While Thibodeau guided the franchise to sustained postseason success, concerns lingered about his unwillingness to extend his rotations and the predictability of his offense.
Brown is expected to diversify the Knicks’ offense and increase their pace of play. According to Crean, they will need to become less Brunson-centric and better utilize their complementary players to take the next step.
Tom Crean Calls Out Knicks’ Overdependence on Jalen Brunson
During Tuesday’s Las Vegas Summer League matchup against the Brooklyn Nets, Crean delivered a blunt assessment of New York’s offense this past season. The ex-Indiana University coach, who coached Knicks forward OG Anunoby for two seasons (2015-2017), highlighted the team’s overreliance on Brunson’s offensive creation.
Crean, now an ESPN analyst, anticipates Brown improving New York’s ball movement and alleviating the nightly pressure on the two-time All-Star.
“If they don’t throw the ball ahead and play more in transition, and they’ve gotta get away from one action, one shot, I mean, the ball has got to move, and that’s Mike Brown’s forte,” Crean said.
ESPN’s Tom Crean, OG Anunoby’s college coach, on Jalen Brunson & Knicks offense:
“In all honesty you can bring back Red Holzman, OK? If they don’t throw the ball ahead & play more in transition…they gotta get away from 1 action 1 shot, I mean the ball has got to move. And… pic.twitter.com/ZA62d2rv6f
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) July 16, 2025
“But, at the end of the day, as good as Jalen is, in my opinion, he’s a much better player when he’s not only pushing the ball but where the ball is moving because there’s so many times where he’s handling that everything is built to stop him because it’s not necessarily gonna be passed.
“Jalen Brunson is so good that you really should never measure him based on his points. You measure him based on his efficiency, the ball moving ahead, getting offense.”
Crean then noted that the Knicks have several players capable of thriving in expanded offensive roles, including his former player, Anunoby.
“No matter what, they’ve got to get better moving that ball from side to side, utilizing their players. They’ve got great wing runners, right?” Crean said. “OG Anunoby can get up the floor, [Mikal] Bridges can get up the floor, [Josh] Hart can get up the floor, [Miles] McBride can get up the floor.
“Well, those guys can also make plays in the halfcourt, and I think for them to take the next step … Jalen has almost got to get more off-the-ball catches, rather than drive it into the paint, and everything starts and finishes with him.”
Brown Touches on His Plan To Revamp Knicks’ Offense Around Brunson
Brown, a two-time NBA Coach of the Year, revolutionized the Sacramento Kings’ offense during the 2022-23 season. He implemented a pace-and-space approach in his first campaign with the organization, which resulted in a then-league record 118.6 offensive rating.
Meanwhile, Sacramento experienced an 18-win improvement from the previous year, finishing 48-34.
According to Brown, he plans to bring a similar offensive philosophy to the Big Apple and deploy Brunson in creative ways.
“Everyone knows I like to play fast,” Brown said during his July 8 introductory press conference. “To have a guy like Jalen out there gives you the versatility to play all different kinds of ways, which is what it’s gonna take to win games.”
As such, it appears Brown plans to answer Crean’s call for Anunoby and the rest of New York’s supporting cast to get more touches alongside the 6’2″ guard next season.
