NBA Contacts Knicks Over Rick Brunson Promotion

[RealGM Wiretap]

The NBA has made contact with the New York Knicks over whether the promotion of assistant coach Rick Brunson violated the league's salary cap rules, sources told Ian Begley of SNY.

Rick Brunson received a promotion during the 2024 offseason, with his son Jalen Brunson signing a four-year, $156.5 million contract extension. 

Jalen Brunson would have been eligible for a $270 million max extension if he waited until the 2025 offseason.

The Knicks said that the league's inquiry was "harassment."

‘‘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,” said MSG Sports in a statement.

 

Via Ian Begley/SNY

[TheCage4]

So the Knicks hiring Rick to sign Jalen and then bumping his salary is questionable, but drafting Bronny and giving him a 4 year guaranteed contract is okay. I love this game.

[DoctorDunc]

Adam Slither is the ultimate hypocrite.

[gpoon]

So the Knicks hiring Rick to sign Jalen and then bumping his salary is questionable, but drafting Bronny and giving him a 4 year guaranteed contract is okay. I love this game.

This is a terrible take, how is that the same at all? Rick doesn't count for salary cap... Bronny getting a guaranteed contract hurts the team... where as Brunson taking a 100M pay cut allows them to build a much stronger team...

[TheCage4]

So the Knicks hiring Rick to sign Jalen and then bumping his salary is questionable, but drafting Bronny and giving him a 4 year guaranteed contract is okay. I love this game.

This is a terrible take, how is that the same at all? Rick doesn't count for salary cap... Bronny getting a guaranteed contract hurts the team... where as Brunson taking a 100M pay cut allows them to build a much stronger team...

It's called "nepotism" genius.

[gpoon]

So the Knicks hiring Rick to sign Jalen and then bumping his salary is questionable, but drafting Bronny and giving him a 4 year guaranteed contract is okay. I love this game.

This is a terrible take, how is that the same at all? Rick doesn't count for salary cap... Bronny getting a guaranteed contract hurts the team... where as Brunson taking a 100M pay cut allows them to build a much stronger team...

It's called "nepotism" genius.

LOL, okay, you clearly don't get it. Nepotism wasn’t the only issue the NBA had. If it didn’t benefit a team in some way, they wouldn’t care—like with the LeBron/Bronny situation. Nobody was fighting to draft Bronny, so if a team chose to give up a roster spot, that’s on them, similar to the Thanasis deal. However, when a team gains significant advantages from these situations, it becomes a real problem. It’s surprising you can’t see that.

[shrink]

So the Knicks hiring Rick to sign Jalen and then bumping his salary is questionable, but drafting Bronny and giving him a 4 year guaranteed contract is okay. I love this game.

This is a terrible take, how is that the same at all? Rick doesn't count for salary cap... Bronny getting a guaranteed contract hurts the team... where as Brunson taking a 100M pay cut allows them to build a much stronger team...

It's called "nepotism" genius.

Teams can draft whoever they want, for whatever reason they want. It’s all fair because each would get an NBA salary.

However, the NBA uses team payroll to apply CBA rules to high spending teams to try to create league parity. If Jalen took less, so his dad would get more off-the-books, it gives the Knicks an advantage in parity, with more money to spend on other players.

To the main point, I don’t think anything comes of this. The Knicks didn’t do anything against the CBA by hiring Ric, signing Jalen, or promoting Ric. They try to keep an eye on “off the books compensation,” and can always play their “circumventing the CBA” card when their rules aren’t enough, but both Ric and Jalen have their own independent careers in the NBA, and their relationship shouldn’t be negatively used to hamstring the other. It might not be totally fair, but I think NYK is in the clear here.

[Barcs]

NBA really trying to throw **** at the wall and see what sticks.

[JonFromVA]

This is a terrible take, how is that the same at all? Rick doesn't count for salary cap... Bronny getting a guaranteed contract hurts the team... where as Brunson taking a 100M pay cut allows them to build a much stronger team...

It's called "nepotism" genius.

Teams can draft whoever they want, for whatever reason they want. It’s all fair because each would get an NBA salary.

However, the NBA uses team payroll to apply CBA rules to high spending teams to try to create league parity. If Jalen took less, so his dad would get more off-the-books, it gives the Knicks an advantage in parity, with more money to spend on other players.

To the main point, I don’t think anything comes of this. The Knicks didn’t do anything against the CBA by hiring Ric, signing Jalen, or promoting Ric. They try to keep an eye on “off the books compensation,” and can always play their “circumventing the CBA” card when their rules aren’t enough, but both Ric and Jalen have their own independent careers in the NBA, and their relationship shouldn’t be negatively used to hamstring the other. It might not be totally fair, but I think NYK is in the clear here.

Circumventing the CBA is against the CBA, that's the rule in question.

[moocow007]

I seriously doubt giving his dad an assistant coaching job was worth Jalen Brunson taking an $113.5 million discount or coming to the Knicks or anything else that the conspiracy theorists want to imagine. If it did then Jalen Brunson isn't as smart as most folk thought he was. Jalen Brunson has said repeatedly that money is not the most important thing (winning, comfort and security was). He said this when he was in Dallas (and asked for what was a very reasonable contract to stay in Dallas) and again as a Knick. And nothing about anything that he's done or said or carries himself would seem to contradict that. Brunson grew up a Knick fan partly cause his dad used to bring him to work when Rick himself was a Knick. He made friends with several Knick players including Marcus Camby who he credited specifically for being really good to him. That's been clear. He was also close to Thibs when he was growing up (and Thibs was already the head coach and not hired to get Jalen Brunson to sign). That's why he decided to join the Knicks at a discount and then sign a reup at a discount.

[moocow007]

It's called "nepotism" genius.

Teams can draft whoever they want, for whatever reason they want. It’s all fair because each would get an NBA salary.

However, the NBA uses team payroll to apply CBA rules to high spending teams to try to create league parity. If Jalen took less, so his dad would get more off-the-books, it gives the Knicks an advantage in parity, with more money to spend on other players.

To the main point, I don’t think anything comes of this. The Knicks didn’t do anything against the CBA by hiring Ric, signing Jalen, or promoting Ric. They try to keep an eye on “off the books compensation,” and can always play their “circumventing the CBA” card when their rules aren’t enough, but both Ric and Jalen have their own independent careers in the NBA, and their relationship shouldn’t be negatively used to hamstring the other. It might not be totally fair, but I think NYK is in the clear here.

Circumventing the CBA is against the CBA, that's the rule in question.

There is nothing in the CBA that says that a team cannot hire an assistant coach that is related to a player on the team or that will be added to the team.

[moocow007]

Just a reminder...Rick Brunson wasn't part of the Mavericks organization and Jalen had wanted to stay in Dallas if Dallas had simply made him a reasonable offer.