The Knicks have a new face of player development.
The Leon Rose-led front office that hired Mike Brown to replace Tom Thibodeau as head coach is expected to bring in St. Joseph’s head coach Billy Lange to oversee player development, league sources told The Daily News. ESPN was first to report Lange’s expected move from Philadelphia to New York.
Lange was preparing to enter his seventh season as head coach of the Hawks, compiling an overall record of 81–104 during his tenure at St. Joe’s — but increasing his win total in each of the past four years, including back-to-back 20-win seasons and consecutive NIT appearances in 2024 and 2025.
Among Lange’s development success stories is Rasheer Fleming, the 6-foot-9 forward who improved his game each season at St. Joe’s and ultimately became the No. 31 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, landing with the Phoenix Suns. Fleming grew from a 6-point, 5-rebound freshman into a First Team All-Atlantic 10 junior averaging 14.7 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and 1.4 blocks, while improving his three-point shooting from 29.7% to 39% over three seasons.
Fleming’s leap is relevant — because the Knicks are up against the second apron with no cap flexibility beyond their final minimum-salary roster slot. Short of a major trade, the only meaningful way to improve this roster is by developing their young prospects.
That’s where Lange comes in.
The Knicks used the 25th, 34th, and 58th picks of the 2024 NBA Draft to select Pacome Dadiet, Tyler Kolek, and Ariel Hukporti, respectively. None played regular minutes under Thibodeau despite a rotation that clearly needed more depth. Hukporti eventually cracked the lineup — outperforming Jericho Sims — but suffered a season-ending meniscus tear that derailed his progress.
That approach is expected to shift under Brown, who has a track record of playing fast and deploying deeper rotations that include younger players.
New York enters the 2025–26 season with a strong nine-man group built around All-Stars Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, plus free agent additions Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele, who starred for France in the 2024 Olympics. But to match the depth and versatility that powered the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder to the NBA Finals, the Knicks will need more than just their top nine.
That’s where Lange’s background becomes especially valuable.
Before taking the St. Joe’s job, Lange spent five seasons (2014–2019) as a player development coach and assistant under Brett Brown in Philadelphia, working with Joel Embiid, Jahlil Okafor, Ben Simmons, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Furkan Korkmaz, Markelle Fultz, Zhaire Smith, Landry Shamet, and Shake Milton through various Sixers draft classes. He also served under Jay Wright at Villanova during two separate stints (2001–04, 2011–13), though he left the program prior to Josh Hart’s arrival in 2013.
Lange’s hire continues Brown’s reshaping of the Knicks’ coaching staff, which includes Chris Jent, Brendan O’Connor, Ricardo Fois, and now Lange.
The Knicks fired Thibodeau shortly after reaching the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 25 years, then ultimately hired Brown — a two-time Coach of the Year most recently with the Sacramento Kings.
Now, the front office and new staff are aligned behind a clear priority: developing from within to close the gap on the NBA’s elite.