He stood behind the mic, before the orange and blue, Knicks pin on his lapel — introduced as head coach, introduced to no one: 

Mike Brown, 55, two-time NBA Coach of the Year, four-time champion, mind for the game, eyes of experience (eyes never naked), voice of reason, load-bearing shoulders, inch-thick skin, quick with a laugh, quicker to be fired, longtime resident of high-profile sidelines. 

With LeBron James in Cleveland and Tim Duncan in San Antonio. As Phil Jackson’s successor with Kobe Bryant’s Lakers and Steve Kerr’s consigliere on a Golden State dynasty. 

The footprint never fades.