Mike Brown will retain the father of Jalen Brunson, but in a much smaller capacity
The New York Knicks have officially started the Mike Brown era, and with it comes some new changes to the team’s coaching staff.
Per Stefan Bondy of the New York Post, Mike Brown will hire a new associate head coach, which means that Rick Brunson — that father of Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson — will have a much lesser role on the Knicks coaching staff.
Bondy reports that the move was made to clear any perceptions of potential nepotism taking place on the Knicks’ staff, given that Rick Brunson was the lead assistant under head coach Tom Thibodeau.
“It’s viewed as a move by the organization to give Brown more control while simultaneously addressing the distractions or perceptions of conflicts of interest that arose last season by having the star player’s father as the top assistant,” Bondy said.
Brunson was hired by the Knicks in June 2022, just one month before his son Jalen signed with the team in free agency. He was previously a journeyman NBA player in the 1990’s, and the mid-2000’s before entering the coaching realm in 2007, where he has stayed since.
His son Jalen has thrived since showing up in New York, averaging 26.4 points per game and being named an All-Star, and All-NBA in each of the last two seasons.
Category: Basketball
