Knicks’ new assistant coach could help team sign Jalen Brunson in free agency
Just when New York Knicks fans thought that the idea of Jalen Brunson joining the team might be completely out of the picture, SNY’s Ian Begley shook up the entire fanbase.
Per Begley, Rick Brunson, Jalen’s father, is finalizing a contract with the Knicks to become an assistant coach. The 49-year-old worked under Tom Thibodeau in Chicago and Minnesota but hasn’t coached in the NBA since he resigned from the Timberwolves coaching staff in 2018 amid harassment allegations.
Now, New York’s front office has decided to bring Rick back to the Knicks, the team that he played for from 1998-2000. The timing is interesting, considering that it was just two days ago when Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer reported that Jalen was expected to re-sign with the Dallas Mavericks.
If Jalen and the Mavericks don’t agree to an extension, which is expected to be in the $20-$25 million per year range, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent on the first of July.
Knicks are finalizing a contract with Rick Brunson, Jalen Brunson’s father
Mark Cuban seems to be adamant that Dallas is going to keep Jalen, who helped lead the Mavericks to the Western Conference Finals.
Jalen was drafted by Dallas in 2018, and while Cuban’s said that he knows that the guard wants to stay with the Mavericks, his father re-emerging on the NBA scene in New York could be a game-changer.
The 25-year-old already has ties to Leon Rose because his father was one of Rose’s first clients dating back to his days with the CAA.
Even amidst the news, don’t forget that the Knicks currently don’t have the cap space to sign Jalen. That brings up the idea of a sign-and-trade, but that’s something that Dallas has said that it won’t cooperate with. On top of that, the Mavericks would have to first get rid of a couple of players to have the space to execute a sign-and-trade.
So, for the fans who are still hoping that New York might be able to somehow sign Jalen in free agency, his father becoming an assistant coach with the team could mean that the guard’s at least going to consider the Knicks. But don’t read too much into that, although that’s easier said than done.
Is Jalen going to be New York’s newest point guard? Stay tuned.
