If the New York Knicks disappoint in the NBA playoffs and go head-to-head with head coach Mike Brown, his potential replacement has just become available.
Despite being on the job for less than a year, Brown is feeling intense pressure in his first postseason as head coach of the Knicks. He was hired to take the team beyond Tom Thibodeau. However, they won only two games more than the previous year, and they disappointed fans more during the 2025–26 season than in the past few.
Going into the campaign, most Knicks pundits felt the team would have to reach at least the NBA Finals for the coaches, executives, and players to keep their jobs. While firing a coach after one season is a rash move, questions have been raised about the team's chemistry and the Browns not adjusting their system to get the most out of All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns.
But who can the team bring in with experience after failing to secure a preferred coach from rival teams last summer? Well, one of the coaches he was interested in a year ago has just become available. On Tuesday, Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan officially "resigned" from his role in the organization.
Billy Donovan would be the top Mike Brown replacement option for the New York Knicks
Rumors swirled last year that the Knicks front office was possibly considering bringing in Jason Kidd from the Dallas Mavericks and Ime Udoka from the Houston Rockets. The Athletic's Mike Puleo noted today that before Donovan received an extension last year, "the New York Knicks reportedly pursued Donovan for their coaching vacancy, but according to multiple reports, the Bulls declined the Knicks' interview request."
Donovan finished his Bulls tenure with a 226–256 record and only one playoff trip in six seasons. Awesome, no doubt about it. However, as Florida's head coach, he won two national championships, and when he took over the same job with the Oklahoma City Thunder, they went 243–157 and made the playoffs all five seasons.
What makes the 60-year-old an interesting option for the Knicks is that he is a native of Rockville Centre, NY. If the team disappoints this spring, a son of the state, who has a strong coaching resume, would make him one of the strongest replacement options on the market for the Browns.
