Jalen Brunson made a nice gift to the Knicks this summer, extending for $154 million over four years, while he could have received $269 million over five years if he had waited until next summer.
The maneuver allowed the franchise to maintain salary flexibility, following the arrival of Mikal Bridges, in order to pick up Karl-Anthony Towns. Except that on the NBA side, we wonder because, at the same time, Rick Brunson was promoted to first assistant to Tom Thibodeau by the Knicks, with a nice raise to boot.
Obviously, Adam Silver and the leaders of the league are wondering if the “Big Apple” franchise, which has become expert in using the gray areas of the collective agreement, has not compensated the “gift” of the son with the salary of the father. A question that the Knicks consider to be ” harassment “and downright « offensive » !
An already troubled role when signing his son
“In response to rumors about the NBA's investigation into Rick Brunson's promotion, he simply took Johnnie Bryant's place (former assistant head coach, left for the Cavaliers last summer) and earned the same salary as Johnnie Bryant. It's shocking that anyone would argue that Rick didn't deserve this promotion.”responded MSG Sports in a press release. “Rick has done a tremendous job and will continue to do so. We consider this to be more of an harassment of the Knicks, due to our opposition to certain issues regarding the NBA as a whole. »
Considering himself cheated by the redistribution system in place, the owner James Dolan is in open war with the other owners, but especially with Adam Silver.
As a reminder, this is not the first time that the Knicks have been targeted by an NBA investigation in relation to the role of Rick Brunson. His arrival in the Big Apple as an assistant to Tom Thibodeau, a few months before his son became a free agent, also attracted the attention of the league. New York had also been sanctioned for “tampering”, having acquired proof that the club had negotiated the signing of the playmaker before the opening of “free agency”. Even if the sanction (a second round of Draft) was not scary.
