New offensive and defensive philosophies aren’t the only changes hitting Madison Square Garden’s hardwood this season.

Knicks head coach Mike Brown also plans to take a more balanced, team-wide approach to minutes distribution in his first year at the helm — a departure from the heavy-handed style of his predecessor, Tom Thibodeau, who often leaned on his starters for marathon shifts while the rest of the rotation sat cold.

Brown and the Knicks touched down in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday for Part 2 of training camp and the start of the preseason. And for a coach known for collaboration and long-term thinking, one of the early priorities is managing workloads for the 82-game grind — with the playoffs, not the win column, serving as the guiding light.

“The biggest thing is trying to make sure you watch everybody’s minutes instead of trying to chase games,” Brown told reporters in Abu Dhabi. “There might be some games where maybe you throw the towel in early. It’s important to win, but you also have to understand, ‘Hey, I want to keep this guy’s minutes here, this guy’s minutes here, this guy’s minutes here,’ instead of trying to extend everybody’s minutes. Because the season is long, and we don’t want anybody worn out by the end.”

That shift in philosophy marks a stark contrast from the Thibodeau era. Last season alone, Mikal Bridges became the only NBA player to crack the 3,000-minute mark. Josh Hart led all players who appeared in at least 53 games in minutes per game. OG Anunoby ranked top-six league-wide in that category — and Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns both finished in the top-25.

No other team had more than two players average over 35 minutes per game. The Knicks had five.

Brown saw firsthand what overextending stars can cost a contender. As a member of Steve Kerr’s coaching staff during the Warriors’ historic 73-9 campaign in 2015-16, Brown watched Stephen Curry and company push for every win — only for a gassed Golden State squad to fall to LeBron James and the Cavaliers in the Finals. The lesson stuck.

“It kind of caught up to them [in 2016],” Brown said. “And from that point on, that’s when [Steve Kerr] was like, ‘I’m not going to chase [wins] anymore. If we get it, we get it — but I’ve got to make sure for Steph [Curry], if we want him to average 35 minutes, that’s what he averages.’”

That balance showed in Brown’s last full season in Sacramento. De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis hovered around 35 minutes per night, and Keegan Murray checked in just under 34, but the rest of the roster was spread across the spectrum. Four Kings averaged between 20 and 30 minutes per game, with another four logging between 10 and 20.

Brown plans to bring that same mindset to New York. As things stand, the Knicks have four locked-in starters in Brunson, Towns, Bridges, and Anunoby. Hart, Mitchell Robinson, and Miles McBride are all in the mix for the fifth starting slot, with bench minutes to be distributed among Jordan Clarkson, Guerschon Yabusele, and one or more of the end-of-roster hopefuls: Malcolm Brogdon, Landry Shamet, Pacome Dadiet, Tyler Kolek, and Ariel Hukporti.

Bridges — the NBA’s reigning Ironman — welcomes the reinforcements.

“I think it’s good, especially with the guys we have on the team,” he said. “As far as starters and everybody else — the bench — we’ve got a lot of guys that can hoop and play the right way. So I know if I get subbed out, OG or somebody else, the next guy is gonna step up and do their thing. It’s a trust thing. Knowing that we’re not really gonna slip much when we’re subbing out.”

That level of depth only became possible because players made real financial sacrifices. Brunson, who could have waited to command a $286 million contract next summer, instead signed a four-year, $156 million extension this offseason to give the Knicks flexibility. Bridges left $6 million on the table to ink a four-year, $150 million deal.

“I think if I came in here and preached how much I want to win and tried to take every dollar and make it difficult for the organization, I’d seem like a fraud and that’s not who I am,” he said on Knicks Media Day. “I want to win bad, and whatever it takes, I love all our guys here so why wouldn’t I want the next man up who needs some money, why wouldn’t I give them an opportunity to get paid as well? So I think I’ve got a good amount of money. I don’t think a couple more Ms will change my life”

Yabusele also signed for less than the full mid-level exception. The new Knicks coach hadn’t seen this level of selflessness with pay before.

“It’s unusual,” Brown said earlier in camp. “You sacrifice who you are and what you are for the betterment of the team. There’s no better way to show that publicly — to show your teammates and everyone else — than to do what they did.

“It just sets the tone: That’s what this team’s about. Because that’s what those individuals are about. And that’s what they’re gonna bring to the group.”

It’s not just money they’re sacrificing. Brunson and Bridges are ready to sacrifice minutes, too — a welcome change for a team that got run into the ground by the time last season’s playoff run came to an end.