New York Knicks Set To Hire Rick Brunson As Assistant Coach

Former nine-year NBA guard Rick Brunson, the father of soon-to-be free agent Jalen Brunson, is joining the New York Knicks as an assistant coach.

The New York Knicks are reportedly hiring former Knicks guard Rick Brunson as an assistant coach, first reported by SNY’s Ian Begley.

Brunson played for nine seasons in the NBA, spending time in New York with the Knicks from 1998-2001. Since retiring following the 2005-06 season, he has spent time as an assistant coach both in the NBA and in college.

His relationship with Tom Thibodeau runs deep, as Brunson spent three seasons with the Chicago Bulls as an assistant under Thibodeau and then two seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Rick Brunson also has a standing relationship with current Knicks team president Leon Rose, who represented Brunson as an agent for Creative Artists Agency throughout his playing career.

In 2018, the Timberwolves and Brunson parted ways, as the former player resigned from his position as an assistant coach with the team amid workplace misconduct allegations, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.

Krawczynski reported that several women alleged that Brunson had "improper interactions" with them while on the job.

Since leaving the Timberwolves in 2018, Rick Brunson has been the head coach at Camden High School in New Jersey. With Brunson as the head coach and one of the nation’s top prospects in DJ Wagner, Camden won the Group 2 New Jersey state title this past year.

Now finalizing a deal to fill the void left behind by newly appointed Louisville Men’s Basketball coach Kenny Payne, Rick Brunson’s arrival in New York definitely raises a lot of eyebrows because of his son, Jalen Brunson, being a free agent this offseason.

Set to be an unrestricted free agent this summer, Jalen Brunson has long been a name connected to the Knicks organization for a while and now with his father being a coach for the team, this could pull him away from the Dallas Mavericks.

The Knicks have an obvious hole to fill in their backcourt this offseason and the Mavericks' guard is exactly the kind of player they would like to add. 

The arrival of Brunson to the Knicks coaching staff not only brings another familiar face alongside Thibodeau, but he will look to aid New York in terms of player development moving forward.