You’re barely waking up but your Knickerbockers have been up and running for hours on end with Abu Dhabi’s time eight hours into the future.
Back to the present. Or to the past, maybe. I don’t even know
what day I live on.
Here’s what we’ve been able to get from a few New York Knicks, including coach Brown, before the hella long trip to the UAE on Sunday.
Mike Brown
On letting it fly from deep:
“If you’re open and your feet are set — especially if that ball hits the paint, or we’ve got a cut or roll that pulls the defense in, and now we get a spray to a three? We better let it fly. We better let it fly.”
On team standards and sacrifice:
“One of the big things when we’re talking about our standards and I’ve hit this before: The first one is sacrifice, second one is connectivity, competitive spirit, a belief in the overall process and each other. All that is coupled by accountability, and that to me hits home on the first one: You sacrifice. You sacrifice who you are and what you are for the betterment of the team, and there’s no better way to show that publicly, you get to show your teammates and everyone else than to do what they did. And it just sets the tone going for that ‘that’s what this team’s about’ because that’s what those individuals are about and that’s what they’re going to bring to the team.”
On Malcolm Brogdon’s presence:
“He’s been great. He has a steadiness about him that is fantastic to be around, especially with us throwing a lot of stuff at the new group.”
On Landry Shamet’s game:
“His pace in full court, he’s always sprinting to the corner and with his shooting ability, he puts a lot of pressure on D and also flattens D and driving lanes [expand]. Half-court, he can create offense for teammates just with his gravity. Defensively unafraid, will guard whoever”
On managing player schedules before Abu Dhabi trip:
“One thing we may try to do is when we land, we don’t want guys going to sleep. We’ll go to the hotel, hang out a little bit and then we’re gonna strategically practice at a certain time to keep their bodies right.”
On staying awake after arrival in Abu Dhabi:
“We want to make sure they stay up.”
Malcolm Brogdon
On playing on a non-guaranteed deal:
“I come here with the expectation I’m going to make the team. I feel what I bring to the table and have to offer, I can help this team. The decision is out of my control but I feel like I have what it takes to help this team.”
On moving to the Knicks and competing:
“Going into my 10th year, I wanted to be in a good organization that’s competing and trying to win a championship. I had that in Milwaukee, Boston, and here I think there’s a real shot.”
On his role taking pressure off Brunson:
“Anything that can take pressure off Jalen is the big goal going forward with this team. That’s what I want to do this year: Take pressure off him on both sides of the ball — and everybody else.”
On adapting quickly:
“The last three years I’ve had three different systems, different playing styles and different coaches. I do think that gives me an edge on other new guys coming here, being able to adjust fast. I think that’s what this league is all about: Who can adjust fastest.”
On choosing New York:
“I was really set on being on the Knicks. It’s a privilege to put this jersey on and compete with this team, especially with where they are and the year they came off of. I didn’t want to be anywhere else.”
On his versatility:
“This is a roster that in the past has been in need of more ball handlers and more creators, more versatile players that can handle the ball. I think I bring that. I can help guard. I’m a Swiss Army knife in a lot of ways and have a lot of strengths.”
On Jalen Brunson:
“He’s an excellent player. A superstar in this league.”
Josh Hart
On Malcolm Brogdon:
“He’s someone who has been in the league for a while and makes other guys better. He doesn’t play sped up.”
Jalen Brunson
On generating good shots early in the system:
“Generating good shots, yes. The volume, perhaps not yet. We’re still trying to understand concepts, understand where we need to be on the floor — our pace, spacing, and stuff like that. I think once we understand that and know where everyone’s going to be, whether we’re making plays for ourselves or for others, that’ll be a lot easier.”
John Wallace
On understanding the Knicks’ playoff heartbreak:
“That’s how I know what they went through this summer in terms of the amount of work you can put in, because you don’t want to have that same feeling in the following summer. So you work as hard as you possibly can. You’re trying to improve on certain things that you can improve on, so you can not only be a better player, but be able to be a better asset to your team at the same time.”
On the Knicks’ veteran core:
“The core group of guys on the Knicks are all seasoned vets. They all have their money. Now it’s all about winning and figuring out a way to win. When you have someone like Jalen Brunson, who’s all about winning, and the rest of those guys — KAT (Karl-Anthony Towns), OG [Anunoby], Mikal [Bridges] — they’ve all made the necessary sacrifices in terms of just trying to be a winner. They’re all winners. Now the next step is trying to create that formula to win in the NBA at the highest level. They fell a little short last year. Hopefully, they’re able to tweak a couple of things and get over that hump this year.”
On the coaching change:
“Anytime you have a coaching change that pumps new life, a new voice, it’s a new energy. Coach Thibs was my rookie coach, someone I’ve known a very long time, and he did a great job in terms of creating a new culture — the hard work, carrying yourself the right way, playing hard all the time. That culture is in place. Now, if Mike Brown can bring the type of offensive ingenuity he applied to the Sacramento Kings in 2023 when they led the NBA in scoring, that’s going to be a huge asset. If the Knicks can flow and play like that, they’ll be headed in the right direction.”
