Remember when the New York Knicks poached Jalen Brunson in 2022 free agency, and were then laughably penalized for tampering during the process? Well, the Dallas Mavericks sure do. And they may be exacting their revenge by messing with the Knicks’ coaching staff.
New York recently requested permission to speak with Dallas assistant Jay Triano about its associate head coach opening under Mike Brown—and was denied, according to the New York Post’s Stefan Bondy.
This marks the second time the Mavericks have foiled the Knicks’ attempts to fill out their staff. On the first occasion, the stakes were higher. New York wanted to interview Jason Kidd, Dallas’ own head coach, about replacing Tom Thibodeau, and got shut down then as well.
You can’t help but wonder whether this can be traced back to Brunson’s departure a few years ago.
It’s totally possible the Mavs are holding a grudge
Dismiss the premise if you must, but we know Dallas isn’t happy about how things unfolded. Then-Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was clearly peeved about it, and while he’s no longer overseeing basketball operations, team president Nico Harrison remains in place. It’s not hard to imagine Dallas taking distinct pleasure out of complicating New York’s offseason.
Granted, Cuban himself previously said the Mavs aren’t in the revenge business when asked whether they tanked to close the 2022-23 season so they could retain their first-round pick that would have otherwise gone to the Knicks. In an alternate reality, in which anyone and everyone is entirely wholesome and operating completely aboveboard, we could buy that NBA execs aren’t petty enough to hold grudges.
Except, we know better.
Enough people from back then remain in Dallas now for Brunson’s departure to keep stinging. You could argue the Luka Doncic trade thrusts the Mavs into a different timeline, and renders JB’s departure irrelevant. You could also claim Dallas never entertains its current course if Brunson stays.
Either way, it can’t be easy for the Mavs to watch a player they had, could have kept, and then lost for nothing contend for top-of-the-ball MVP votes on a different team.
The Knicks vs. Mavs rivalry probably isn’t this deep
The Knicks requested permission to speak with plenty of other currently employed names aside from Kidd, and were rejected by their teams, too. Head coaches with jobs have them for a reason. Though Kidd may not have been happy about the Doncic trade, or with the turnover of his own staff this offseason, Dallas clearly values him enough to consider signing him to an extension.
Meanwhile, the case of Triano is even more cut-and-dry. The Mavs just hired him. Letting him leave for a head coaching gig would be one thing. Not letting him interview for another assistant’s job hardly has sadistic undertones.
That’s the exact reason why New Orleans Pelicans associate head coach James Borrego and Milwaukee Bucks lead assistant Darvin Ham are eighty-sixed from the Knicks’ pool of candidates. Their teams see little value in permitting them to explore identical positions with another franchise.
More than anything, the Knicks may be paying the price for taking so long to hire a head coach. Their options to fill out Brown’s staff wouldn’t be as limited had they acted sooner.
Still, there’s also a chance they’re continuing to foot the bill for prying Brunson out of Dallas three years ago. And if that’s the case, so be it. The prize is more than worth the price.