Following the Knicks’ deepest playoff run in 25 years, the front office fired Tom Thibodeau, sending a clear message: being “close” is no longer good enough. Madison Square Garden wants a Finals appearance, and to achieve it, they have hired Mike Brown, a veteran coach with championship experience, a new offensive vision, and a reputation for demanding relentless effort. Just days into training camp, it’s already clear that Brown is holding nothing back, and his vision for a high-tempo system is immediately putting the roster to the test.

One player in particular is already feeling the heat. Guerschon Yabusele, one of the Knicks’ key offseason acquisitions, said when asked how his first day under Mike Brown went. “I’m tired, man,” Yabusele told Kristian Winfield. That fatigue isn’t from jet lag. It’s from the track meet Brown turned practice into. Conditioning has become the cornerstone of the new Knicks system, and the French forward is finding out firsthand what “playing fast” really means.

Yabusele, expected to bring scoring punch and physicality to a revamped second unit, joined New York hoping to contribute to a winning team. But he’s quickly learning that Brown’s vision of a high-tempo, spaced-out attack demands full-speed commitment. During day one of training camp, the Knicks’ head coach made it clear: everything starts with effort. That includes every trip up the court and every free throw.

“We’re talking about KAT grabbing a rebound, throwing the ball up the floor, and then full sprinting as hard as he could to get a finish on the other end,” Winfield reported. “And then we’re talking about a free throw line at the end of practice, and if anybody misses a free throw, the whole team gotta run sprints up and down the floor.”

Guerschon Yabusele joined the Knicks on a two-year, $11.2 million deal after averaging eleven points and 5.6 rebounds in 70 games with the Philadelphia 76ers last season. His overseas success, including a 36-point EuroBasket performance against Poland, positioned him as a key bench contributor for New York’s second unit. Yabusele’s versatility fits Brown’s plan to deepen the rotation to 9-10 players. He expressed gratitude at camp, stating, “First and foremost, I’m just really grateful to be here in this organization with everything that’s been done before.”

Jalen Brunson, the Knicks’ floor general and playoff hero, had already hinted at what was coming. “Being in as good shape as he can be because he knows Mike Brown wants to play fast,” Brunson said on media day. And in case you’re wondering who’s leading the charge in terms of fitness, Winfield made it clear: “Mikal Bridges is the fastest player on this team. Pacing everybody… three or four full strides ahead of the next person. He was gone.” Brown’s conditioning-heavy practices are about building habits. The only problem? Not everyone’s built for that grind yet.

Knicks stars await Brown’s fast-paced vision

While Yabusele fights through the pain of Brown’s fast-paced blueprint, Jalen Brunson and the Knicks’ core are preparing for the next step: tactical transformation. The Knicks were slow last year. They ranked 27th in three-point attempts, 23rd in pace, and leaned on isolation-heavy possessions, most of which started and ended with Brunson. That’s changing, or it better.

Mike Brown has made it clear he wants movement. “Tell ’em to run faster,” he said, half-joking but fully serious. He wants Brunson, who led the NBA in time of possession and seconds per touch last season, to work more off the ball. That means getting easier looks, catching the ball on the move, and reducing the grind that wears down even elite scorers over a long season. “We’re going to try to get him a lot of those situations,” Brown said of finding Brunson more catch-and-shoot threes. “Especially when we start playing games — we try to find ways to get him some easy catch-and-shoot looks.”

Brunson’s open to it. That’s encouraging. But how far can he go from being the Knicks’ constant initiator to a player who flows within a larger offensive system? “I’m very open to, honestly, anything right now,” Brunson said. “Because everything’s new, and I just want to win.” And he’ll have help. Karl-Anthony Towns is here for a full year. Bridges, OG Anunoby, and Josh Hart all bring elite defensive tools and playmaking instincts. Brown has already hinted at a rotation of 9.5 to 10 deep, which is a drastic shift from Thibodeau’s ironman lineups.

That depth gives New York a chance to stay fresher and deeper into the season. But it also means players like Brunson and Towns will have to share more responsibility. Less ISO, more motion. Brown wants five-out spacing, more threes, and more players attacking off the bounce. That means moving Hart out of the starting five might be necessary, especially if he continues to struggle with his splinted shooting hand. It might also mean staggering Towns’ minutes to play center with four shooters around him, keeping the paint open and the ball moving.