New York landed in, perhaps and on paper, the softest group in either conference. The Knicks will face the Hornets and Bulls on the road while hosting the Heat and defending Cup champion Bucks at Madison Square Garden.

The NBA Cup champion Bucks will open defense of their in-season tournament title with pool play beginning Oct. 31. will be in East Group C with New York, Chicago, Miami and Charlotte. The Bucks will host the Bulls and Hornets and face the Knicks and Heat on the road.

NBA Cup will be one of the marquee moments in the early part of the 2025-26 NBA regular season. The groups for the tournament have now been revealed, with the Milwaukee Bucks being set to enter the tournament’s easiest group.

Borrego is under contract with the Pelicans. Before the Knicks pursued him, the Denver Nuggets saw him as a candidate to be David Adelman's lead assistant, but New Orleans saw it as a lateral move and denied them permission to interview him,

During his first run as a head coach, Brown took the Cleveland Cavaliers to the NBA Finals in 2006-07, only to get swept by Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs. Two seasons later, Brown guided the Cavs to a franchise-record 66 wins and a spot in the Eastern Conference finals, earning him his first Coach of the Year Award.