Knicks make pre-emptive statement pushing back on rumored investigation of assistant coach Rick Brunson

Jalen Brunson made headlines this summer by signing a four-year, $156.5 million sweetheart extension to stay with the Knicks — leaving as much as $113 million on the table.

Flying under the radar this summer, Knicks assistant coach Rick Brunson — Jalen’s father — got a promotion and raise within the Knicks organization.

That led to the NBA league office contacting the Knicks about the timing of Rick’s raise — did New York violate the league’s salary cap rules by agreeing to help out his father if Jalen signed for less? — reports Ian Begley of SNY.TV. The Knicks handled the news of that investigation in the most James Dolan way possible, releasing an aggressive, pre-emptive statement that pushes back on the entire premise of the investigation.

“In response to the rumored NBA investigation into Rick Brunson’s promotion, Brunson took (former associate head coach) Johnnie Bryant’s place and assumed the same salary as Bryant. It’s offensive that anyone would claim Rick didn’t deserve the promotion. Rick has done a tremendous job and will continue to do so. We see this as more harassment of the Knicks due to our opposition to certain NBA matters.”

Dolan sees a conspiracy everywhere. In this case, Dolan — whose family fortune came primarily from Cablevision, a cable television company (that has since expanded into home internet and more) — has been critical of the NBA’s
new 11-year, $76 billion television rights deal that moves the league toward more streaming options (the Dolans also own the cable-driven MSG Network that broadcasts Knicks games). That prompted the last line of the statement — “We see this as more harassment of the Knicks due to our opposition to certain NBA matters.” Dolan has criticized NBA Commissioner Adam Silver multiple times, complaining about issues of transparency and other concerns, and last year stepped down from seats on the NBA’s influential advisory/finance and media committees.

Rick Brunson getting hired to Tom Thibodeau’s staff in 2022, before Jalen Brunson signed there, was not a coincidence. It also was not a conspiracy in and of itself. The elder Brunson, who played nine years in the NBA, had been on Thibodeau’s coaching staffs in two other stops before New York. Brunson was a trusted Thibodeau assistant. That said, the NBA investigated Jalen Brunson’s signing in New York and said the team had reached out to the free agent before it was officially allowed to, and for that tampering stripped the Knicks of their 2025 second-round pick.

The elder Brunson’s raise this summer was in line with what other top assistants around the NBA make, Begley reports.