Firing Tom Thibodeau might not be the fix to all that ails the New York Knicks right now.
An unflattering report emerged Wednesday about Knicks assistant coach Rick Brunson, who is also the father of Knicks star player Jalen Brunson. Sam Amico of Hoops Wire reports that multiple Knicks players have been unhappy with the presence of Rick in New York.
Amico further notes that some believe Rick has “too much of a say” in the team’s affairs and even characterized Rick as “the person with the most power in the entire organization.” Additionally, Amico reports that both Rick and his son Jalen were said to be supporters of Thibodeau, who was just fired by the Knicks in a stunning decision after leading the team to their first Eastern Conference Finals berth since 2000.
You can read Amico’s full report on the situation here.
The 52-year-old Rick, a former player for the Knicks from 1999-2000, arrived in New York as an assistant coach under Thibodeau in June 2022. Then in July 2022, Jalen signed with the Knicks as a free agent, leading many to believe that Rick played a key role in bringing his son to New York.
Having a coach who is also the father of one of the players on the roster will always lead to the perception (real or imagined) of preferential treatment (as was the case roughly a decade ago with Doc Rivers and his son Austin on the LA Clippers). But one key difference here is that Jalen, a multi-time All-Star and All-NBA selection, is the single best player on the Knicks, adding a further layer of complexity to the situation.
What we do know is that Rick clashed before with a Knicks player who is no longer on the team and that Rick was the subject of a rumored investigation last year into his exact dynamic with the Knicks. Now it sounds like Rick’s continued presence in New York is something of a sore spot for multiple players who are still on the roster.
