Rumors are flying about alleged friction inside the New York Knicks locker room in 2024-25.
With Tom Thibodeau now on the outs, the media has been trying to uncover what may have gone wrong under Thibs in New York.
The Ringer’s Bill Simmons joined in on the fun during a new episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast featuring beloved analyst Zach Lowe as a guest.
Simmons compared the Knicks’ internal issues to Game of Thrones, insinuating that there might be a power struggle going on among the team’s leaders, and he also wondered whether there are political problems with Rick Brunson, father of Jalen, holding such a prominent position on New York’s bench as assistant coach.
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“Knicks coach drama … boy, there’s been some buzzing … there’s been some tidbits and some things being talked about,” Simmons said. “Sources are saying stuff … it just seems that this Knicks team was a lot more dysfunctional than (assumed) … it feels a little … Game of Thrones-y over there … dysfunctional.”
“Are you talking about players?” Lowe then asked. “When you say Game of Thrones, you usually mean, you know, the upper echelon of management.”
“Here’s my question for you,” Simmons replied.
“So, Jalen Brunson’s dad is one of the coaches of the team and worked with Thibs for a long time, and Donte DiVincenzo was yelling at him for some reason in that first home game and seemed like he had felt betrayed by him. And there are always rumors that he had an outsized voice … If you’re the next (Knicks head) coach, do you want your own staff, or do you wanna inherit this staff that felt like it got a little Game of Thrones-y down the stretch there?”
“Every coach wants his own staff,” Lowe replied. “This is obviously a much different situation, since (Rick Brunson) is the father of the franchise player, and I think that is a discussion that has to include lots of different parties … if a change is made. I think a lot of different people have to be involved in that. When you talk to people around the league, there’s a lot of skepticism that there would be a change made because he is Jalen Brunson’s father.”
Rick Brunson, 52, has legitimate friendship ties to Thibodeau, so it’s highly doubtful that there’s any lingering beef between those two.
Brunson first met Thibodeau in the 1980s when Rick was a teenager, and they’ve had a bond since, leading to Brunson serving under Thibs as an assistant on the Minnesota Timberwolves, Chicago Bulls, and most recently the Knicks.
It’ll be interesting to see how New York’s front office approaches Rick Brunson’s job status once they hire a new head coach, but as Lowe alluded to, it would be surprising if Brunson isn’t retained by the Knicks so long as Jalen is the team’s franchise player.
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