Knicks’ Tom Thibodeau, Kings’ Mike Brown get 8-figure contract extensions

While the NBA coaching carousel is already spinning and leading new coaches to new teams, there will also be some extensions likely handed out to coaches whose teams have risen from the doldrums of the standings: Tom Thibodeau of the New York Knicks and Mike Brown of the Sacramento Kings.

The Knicks lead the Indiana Pacers 3-2 in the second round of the playoffs, putting themselves on the brink of its first Eastern Conference Finals appearance since 2000. New York has had winning seasons and made the playoffs in three of Thibs’ four seasons at the helm.

The Kings missed the 2024 playoffs but once again posted a winning record, marking two winning seasons for the first time since the mid-2000s. Injuries derailed Sacramento by the end of the season but the team remains a playoff contender in an increasingly competitive Western Conference.

Given how the landscape of coaching hires is going, Thibodeau and Brown are set to receive eight-figure contract extensions from their respective teams, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.

Fischer writes the following: “The outcome of the Lakers’ process, and the rest of this unfolding coaching cycle — which has already included paydays for Jason Kidd and new Suns head coach Mike Budenholzer — will also provide added context for Mike Brown’s contract extension conversations in Sacramento. With Brown’s Coach of the Year credentials and the new benchmarks for coaching salaries after Monty Williams landed $70-plus million from Detroit and Budenholzer’s recent $10 million average annual salary, Brown’s talks are expected to center around a similar eight-figure threshold as well, league sources told Yahoo Sports. Tom Thibodeau’s own extension number in New York, sources said, is anticipated to finish in that same ballpark.”

Tom Thibodeau, Mike Brown to get eight-figure contract extensions

Both Thibs and Brown won the Coach of the Year award in their first seasons in their jobs (2020-21 and 2022-23, respectively) after bringing their teams to the playoffs when few outside observers believed they could. Both coaches have expertly tapped into the talent on their rosters and revived previously dilapidated teams.

Thibodeau’s Knicks play a bruising, physical style of basketball that has withstood numerous injuries to key players. He has helped players like Julius Randle, Jalen Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo, Josh Hart and Isaiah Hartenstein play the best basketball of their careers.

Brown’s Kings play at a high tempo and were the top offensive team in the 2022-23 campaign. They won the Pacific Division title, too. De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, two players who weren’t seen as good enough to be the top options on a truly good team, have generated magnificent chemistry under his watch and earned All-Star recognition. One of Brown’s top assistants, Jordi Fernandez, was hired as the next head coach of the Brooklyn Nets.

Elsewhere, the Charlotte Hornets filled their vacancy with Boston Celtics assistant Charles Lee and the Phoenix Suns landed Budenholzer, the former Milwaukee Bucks head coach who beat them in the 2021 NBA Finals. The Los Angeles Lakers and Washington Wizards are still searching for their next head coaches.