Former NBA star Gilbert Arenas smells something fishy going on with the New York Knicks’ search for their next head coach.
Fans have piled on the Knicks this offseason due to their ill-fated efforts to try to replace Tom Thibodeau. New York has been linked to several sitting head coaches, such as Ime Udoka, Jason Kidd, and Chris Finch. Unsurprisingly, the team has reportedly been denied access to speak to any of their currently employed targets.
On a recent episode of his “Gil’s Arena” podcast, Arenas shared his theory on why the Knicks have taken such an unusual approach. The former Washington Wizards star called it a “smart” strategy to lay the groundwork for Jalen Brunson’s father, Rick Brunson, to be named the team’s next head coach.
“You’re coach is right here, it’s [Jalen Brunson’s] father. But you can’t just give him the job. What you’re doing is, you’re offering a job to people that already got a job, knowing what the answer is,” Arenas said of the Knicks’ coaching search.
“So you’re pretending for the world that you’re actually looking for [a new head coach], and then you’re going to ‘settle’ for Rick. ‘Ah, we couldn’t find anybody. Everybody rejected the job, so we’re just going to give it to Rick.’ Y’all are slick!”
Rick Brunson, a former Knicks player himself, joined the team’s coaching staff in June 2022 as an assistant under Thibodeau. His arrival came about a month before Jalen signed with New York as a free agent.
Some Knicks players and staff have reportedly had conflicting feelings about Rick’s weighty presence behind the scenes.
While Arenas has been known for sharing some outrageous takes over the years, the idea that Rick Brunson ends up as the Knicks’ head coach does not seem all that far-fetched.
