Mike Brown has thrown Pacome Dadiet straight into the fire.
It’s the Knicks’ first preseason game — halfway across the world in Abu Dhabi — and OG Anunoby is sitting with a hand sprain. Brown could have gone conservative, sliding in veteran Josh Hart. Instead, he went bold, turning to his 20-year-old forward — the 25th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, chosen partly for financial flexibility but also for his 6-8 frame, 6-9 wingspan and smooth shooting stroke that hinted at long-term upside.
With Dadiet in the lineup, the Knicks still looked long and switchable defensively, but they didn’t look the same. Anunoby is a proven two-way stopper, one of the engines behind New York’s back-to-back 50-win seasons and Eastern Conference Finals run. Dadiet, meanwhile, is trying to build a foundation — one possession, one rep, one learning curve at a time. He barely saw the floor under Tom Thibodeau, and if his uneven debut was any indication, minutes under Brown won’t come easily.
Or maybe that’s the difference now.
Thibodeau’s tight rotation was his trademark. Brown’s background tells a different story — one shaped by time under Gregg Popovich in San Antonio, development work in Golden State, and his tenure in Sacramento, where he turned youthful energy into identity.
With the Kings, Brown unleashed a run-and-gun offense that snapped a 17-year playoff drought and lit the beam across Sacramento. He leaned into youth — trusted it, empowered it — and built one of the league’s most joyful success stories.
Now, in New York, Brown faces a similar challenge on a bigger stage. The Knicks are built to win now, but behind their top eight, the rotation thins fast. And that could open the door for another youth movement — if the Knicks Kids are ready to grab it.
“Obviously the past few years, we’ve seen [Mike] put young players on the floor — players who didn’t really get opportunities,” Dadiet told the Daily News. “He’s well known for this. So it’s good for me.”
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Brown’s coaching journey spans nearly three decades and multiple eras of evolution. It began in Washington (1997-99), then continued under Popovich’s championship machine in San Antonio (2000-03) and Rick Carlisle’s Indiana Pacers (2003-05). By 2005, Brown had earned his first head-coaching job in Cleveland, where he inherited a 20-year-old LeBron James and helped guide the Cavaliers to the 2007 NBA Finals.
Even with an all-time talent like LeBron, Brown’s success came from balance — surrounding youth with experience and giving young players room to grow. Sasha Pavlovic, Anderson Varejão and rookies Daniel “Booby” Gibson and Shannon Brown all cracked the rotation. Gibson, a 42nd pick, played 60 regular-season games and every postseason contest — an early sign of Brown’s trust in development.
After Cleveland, Brown returned to San Antonio and later joined another modern giant in Golden State. Working under Steve Kerr gave him a front-row seat to how a dynasty sustains itself — not just through Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson, but through constant infusion of youth.
“It doesn’t matter who you are,” Brown said of Kerr. “If he thinks you can help, he’s going to throw you out there.” That lesson stuck.
Kerr kept end-of-bench players mentally sharp by deploying them without warning.
“If a guy hadn’t played in a few games, [Steve] may not tell you — he’ll just call your number,” Brown said. “It sends a message: stay ready. Not just physically, but mentally. Because you might go in that game, and whether it’s 30 seconds or 10 minutes, you’ve got to bring something — not points, but effort and energy.”
Brown put that philosophy into practice in Sacramento. Injuries gutted his Kings roster midway through the 2023-24 season, forcing him to turn to Keon Ellis — an undrafted two-way guard who became one of the Kings’ most dependable perimeter defenders. By season’s end, Ellis had gone from the G-League to a 25-minute mainstay. Brown was fired 31 games into the next season, but Ellis kept thriving — proof his coach’s trust had staying power.
That experience shapes Brown’s mindset in New York. Opportunity, he believes, is a tool — one that can build a contender now while preparing the next wave.
“If you look at what I’ve done, it’s usually nine-and-a-half to 10 guys,” Brown said. “I try to play as many as I can. Even in Sac, when we had an injury, I started a two-way guy in Keon Ellis. So I’m going to play whoever helps us win and try to get guys an opportunity. With how deep our roster is, everybody should get one at some point.”
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Getting an opportunity is one thing. Seizing it is another.
Brown placed Dadiet at opportunity’s doorstep in the opener: a starting role in Abu Dhabi in place of Anunoby. The sophomore responded with a 1-for-6 shooting night, missing all five attempts from beyond the arc.
Three games later, he’s hanging his head at his locker. His jumper has betrayed him. He scored five points in preseason game No. 3, then shot 2-for-7 and 2-for-6 from deep in extended minutes against the Wizards.
“Honestly, I just go back in the gym. That’s the only thing I can do,” Dadiet said. “I put a lot of work in this summer. I just trust it.”
Brown isn’t panicking. He believes the second-year forward is taking the right shots within the flow of the offense and making good reads. But readiness, he knows, takes repetition.
“I think the G League is fantastic for anybody,” Brown said. “So whether [Pacome’s] getting minutes there or with us, just getting minutes is great for him. He’s got a chance to be really, really good — especially at his size. You can do a lot with it.”
The Knicks might not have the luxury of time for Tyler Kolek to take the long route. Malcolm Brogdon’s sudden retirement reopened the hole they thought they’d patched at backup point guard — the same spot that proved costly in last year’s conference finals against T.J. McConnell and the Pacers.
Kolek has made the most of his chance. In Monday’s preseason matchup with the Wizards — a game where the starters rested — he poured in 20 points in 23 minutes, adding six assists, four rebounds and a steal.
“There’s urgency every single day,” Kolek said. “They say the hardest thing is not to get in this league — it’s to stay in it. You’re fighting and scrapping for yours while keeping a collective goal as a team. Every day you’re working on your game to put yourself in the best position.”
He spent the offseason learning to play off two feet, avoiding jump passes and trusting his pace to create for others. Brown’s system encourages that freedom — the same developmental rope he’s extended throughout his career.
And while the Knicks’ uneven preseason has exposed some questions about roster construction, it’s also revealed something else: under Brown, there will be chances for the next wave to make a mark.
The Knicks’ kids have been waiting. Their moment is here.
“Whoever goes and grabs it,” Brown said. “We feel like we have a deep roster. A lot of guys will have an opportunity to grab whatever minutes might’ve been there or might not have been there. We’ll figure it out at the end who’s gonna get them.”
