Knicks hire Rick Brunson, father of Jalen, as assistant coach

The New York Knicks may have just made themselves a lot more appealing to one notable NBA free agent.

Ian Begley of SportsNet New York reported on Thursday that the Knicks are hiring Rick Brunson, the father of Dallas Mavericks guard Jalen Brunson, to join Tom Thibodeau’s coaching staff as an assistant. Rick, who is known for his player-development skills, had previously been an assistant coach on four different NBA teams, including coaching under Thibodeau in both Chicago and Minnesota.

As for Jalen, he is an unrestricted free agent this summer and is coming off a career year in which he averaged 16.3 points and 4.8 assists a game en route to a conference finals berth for Dallas. The Knicks are known to have interest in Jalen dating back to before the February trade deadline, Begley adds.

An upgrade at the point guard spot is clearly an offseason priority for the Knicks, who have also been linked to other big names at the position. Rick, who, was a former client of Knicks president Leon Rose during his playing career, has history with the Knicks that long predates Jalen’s NBA career. But his presence certainly cannot hurt the team’s pursuit of his son this summer.