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Some in coaching circles have estimated that the Knicks plan to pay the elder Brunson a seven-figure annual sum to replace Kenny Payne, who left the club to become the head coach at Louisville. I wrote about the "very, very, very real" threat that the Knicks posed to steal Brunson away from the Mavericks on June 24, nearly a week before free agency officially began, but there appears to be more to examine here than mere jumping-the-gun talk.
Knicks to hire Rick Brunson, father of free-agent target Jalen Brunson, as assistant coach
The Knicks are finalizing a contract with Rick Brunson, the father of Jalen Brunson, to become an assistant coach on Tom Thibodeau’s staff, SNY has learned. Brunson, a nine-year NBA veteran, has been an assistant coach under Thibodeau in Chicago and Minnesota. The deal is expected to be finalized in the coming days, per people familiar with the matter. The 49-year-old fills a spot on the Knicks bench created when former assistant Kenny Payne left to become head coach at the University of Louisville.
Current NBA fans may know Brunson as the father of Dallas Mavericks guard Jalen Brunson, whom the Knicks had been interested in prior to the trade deadline. Brunson is an unrestricted free agent. Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and general manager Nico Harrison have said that the team wants to re-sign Brunson.
Jeff Goodman: Louisville coach Kenny Payne will hire Danny Manning as an assistant coach, source told @Stadium. Manning joins Nolan Smith. Payne has one more assistant spot to fill.
Marc J. Spears: Former NBA guard Nolan Smith has spoke with Duke’s men’s basketball staff and told them he plans on accepting a job as associate head coach with new head coach Kenny Payne at the University of Louisville, a source told @andscape. Smith’s late father Derek starred with the Cards.
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Julius Randle trying to force his way out of New York?
But some people around the league feel he’s acting in a “James Harden type of way” that suggests he wants a new place of work next season. Randle has lost his strongest ally in assistant coach Kenny Payne, his former mentor at Kentucky who left this month to be the head coach at Louisville. Some NBA sources believe the Knicks will shop Randle for a package revolving around a center if they lose Mitchell Robinson.
Jeff Goodman: Louisville expected to announce Kenny Payne as head coach Friday morning, source told @Stadium. Payne played for Louisville, was an assistant at Oregon and Kentucky, and has been with the Knicks the last couple years as an assistant.
There's no evidence to suggest former Jazz assistant Johnnie Bryant, New York's hand-picked associate head coach, would spark greater success than Thibodeau at this juncture. Kenny Payne, the former Kentucky assistant, may very well leave the Knicks' staff to pursue the Louisville head-coaching opening in the coming days, sources said.
Knicks assistant Kenny Payne emerging as frontrunner for Louisville coaching job
Louisville has narrowed its search for a new men’s basketball coach with New York Knicks assistant Kenny Payne the primary target, sources told Sports Illustrated. There is nothing definite yet, with discussions ongoing and no job offered or accepted, sources said. But if talks proceed well over the next 24 hours, Payne could be introduced as the new coach of the Cardinals as soon as Thursday.
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Julius Randle a max player?
“I don’t believe Julius is a max guy,” an NBA executive told HoopsHype. “He’s a good player, but definitely not a max guy in my opinion. I don’t think his season was a fluke. I think Thibs and Kenny Payne are great for him, I just don’t think he is a max player.”
Marc Stein: Knicks assistant coaches have been prominent in a variety of college coaching searches this month: Johnny Bryant and Kenny Payne are staying on Tom Thibodeau's staff after they emerged as candidates for the Utah and DePaul jobs, respectively.
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