Nalod wrote:Jonas before the season started was wanting to play in europe to be with family. Denver would not release him from his contract.
If he is waived, I'd assume he fulfils his wish?

Why not get another iHart type dude? Guys on the way up!
Huk?

I guess the time has come were we stop talking about Taj Gibson?

Why?

Taj is working out and staying ready

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https://www.twitter.com/IanBegley/status/2057856016696360965

As Jalen Brunson leads Knicks closer to NBA Finals, winning mentality with father Rick still front and center
Ian Begley

When cameras caught Jalen Brunson and Rick Brunson jawing at each other during Game 4 of Knicks-Hawks, the clip spread instantly.

On television and social media, it looked combustible: The star point guard and his father — a Knicks assistant coach— engaged in a heated sideline exchange during a critical road playoff game.

To the Brunsons, it was another day at the office.

“It was about the game,” Jalen said later. “Something that he was reminding me to do the entire game, and I kept putting myself in a position where I was [messing] up.”

Rick let him hear it. Jalen agreed. Then the emotions/adrenaline of playoff basketball took over.

“He thought I was cutting him off, and I wasn’t cutting him off,” Jalen said. “I was just agreeing with him. I was like, ‘Damn, you’re right.’”

Everyone saw what came next: Rick pointing at Jalen, yelling at him while covering his face with his hand. Jalen yelling back at his dad, covering his face with a towel.

But you may have missed what happened moments later.

“The next play, I get fouled,” Jalen recalled, “and then he’s on the side fist-bumping me. No one sees that part.”

That part — Rick Brunson’s unwavering support and tough love for his son — is one of many reasons why the Knicks are where they are right now: two wins away from their first trip to the NBA Finals in 27 years.

* * *

The Knicks head to Cleveland for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals as the hottest team in the NBA. They’ve won nine straight playoff games by a combined 212 points. It’s the largest point differential over a nine-game span in NBA history.

Yes, this is rarefied air for the franchise.

Brunson’s Knicks are just the third team in franchise history to reach consecutive conference finals. They would become the franchise’s first NBA Finals team since the 1998-99 season. The ultimate goal, obviously, is to be the first Knicks team since 1973 to win an NBA title.

“They look like the team that can give the Thunder the most trouble,” a Western Conference scout said earlier this month.

For Knicks fans who’ve sat through rebuild after rebuild over the past 25 years, the scout’s assessment probably sounds like a dream come true.

Remember: New York averaged just 34 wins in the 20 years before Brunson arrived. The Knicks are averaging 50 wins per season with Brunson.

They have 33 playoff wins in the Brunson era — two more games than they’d won in the previous 25 years.

It’s logical to see Brunson as a franchise savior. His record in New York speaks for itself. But Brunson would never call himself a savior. He won’t even refer to himself as a star.

“He’s just about the right stuff,” Knicks head coach Mike Brown said of Brunson’s demeanor. “And we’re fortunate to have him.”

* * *

Jalen Brunson spent much of his early life around the Knicks. His father was a reserve guard with New York for parts of three seasons.

Jalen used to attend Knicks practices and games with his dad. He would imitate the shooting form of stars Allan Houston and Latrell Sprewell.

Needless to say, Jalen loved the game.

Rick Brunson saw that love early on. He worked with Jalen during downtime and in the offseason, famously pushing him through intense blacktop workouts

— Stefan Bondy (@SbondyNBA) May 15, 2026

The workouts — and Jalen’s relationship with the game — started to change when Rick began his coaching career at the University of Virginia in 2007.

“It was new because my dad was there all the time now,” Jalen said. “…He’s here every day with me, and we’re starting to actually work on my game.”

And Jalen was starting to fall in love with the work.

“This was a job for him, this is what he wanted,” Rick said. “I didn’t know where it would go from there, but I knew he was serious about it.

“Most kids play, go home and enjoy the rest of the day. He cared about winning and losing. Losing bothered him. He wanted to be perfect, he wanted to play well, he wanted to win.”

Rick was tough on Jalen. Praise was rare in those early workouts. Scowls and criticism were the norm.

“I wanted to see if he would fold or if he would keep coming back,” Rick said. “Are you going to give in? Are you going to talk back? Or are you just going to work and keep showing that you can do it?

“I would always tell him, ‘This is what a college coach is going to do — the difference is I love you, he doesn’t.’”

Did Jalen ever crack?

“He kept coming back,” Rick said. “He wanted to prove me wrong.”

The purpose of these workouts was twofold: improving physical skill and building mental toughness.

Rick learned the importance of the mental side of the game while playing for Hall of Fame coach John Chaney at Temple. That mental edge would be pivotal for Jalen.

“He didn’t have the athleticism,” Rick said. “He didn’t have the size. So what gets you over? Mental toughness, hard work and being very, very skilled.”

Eventually, Jalen’s mental toughness, work ethic and skill would help turn New York into a contender. But his time in New York started a bit rocky.

* * *

It’s November 2022 — just a few weeks into his son’s first season as a Knick — and Rick Brunson feels off.

On game nights, his head would start throbbing a few hours before tipoff.

His stomach didn’t feel right.

But what was bothering him?

From the outside looking in, Rick was living out a basketball dream: coaching his son in the NBA for a franchise he once played for.

The team was run by Leon Rose, Rick’s first NBA agent. Rose also represented Jalen out of college before he took the Knicks job.

The team was coached at the time by Tom Thibodeau, whom Rick had known since he was 15 years old.

Hollywood stuff.

But in reality, that first year in New York “was probably the worst year of my life,” Rick explained.

The Knicks hovered around .500 during the first few weeks of Jalen’s tenure.

Knowing the New York market and fan base, Rick worried about potential criticism of his son.

“I didn’t want him to be great, just solid. Go under-the-radar but be respected,” Rick said. “Maybe he didn’t get credit for the winning, but he wasn’t going to get blamed for the losing.

“Remember, I’m a father first, coach second.”

The Knicks found their footing in early December. They went 30-15 to finish the season. Brunson averaged 25.6 points and 6.1 assists during that stretch.

He then led the Knicks to a playoff series win — something they’d done just once in the previous 22 seasons.

In the second round against Miami that season, Brunson averaged 31 points, 6.3 assists and 5.5 rebounds per game. The Knicks lost a hard-fought series.

A star was born. And a father’s headaches disappeared.

Eventually, Rick found a new pregame routine.

On game nights these days, he walks through Penn Station — through seas of rush-hour commuters — on his way to Madison Square Garden.

He wants to soak in the moment. He wants to feel the energy of Knicks fans heading to the game.

“I want to be around it and embrace it,” Rick said. “I want to smell it. I want to be a part of it.”

Rick’s ritual continues on the Garden floor.

At the end of the national anthem, he would stand at the scorer’s table waiting for Jalen’s introduction.

These days, his son is greeted by deafening roars from the Garden crowd.

“I take time to look around the arena, and it’s a surreal feeling,” Rick said. “That he’s here on this stage, (the fan reaction) never gets old.”

* * *

The opportunity to teach his son never gets old, either.

Back in mid-March, Jalen was in a bit of a shooting slump.

He’d hit just 38 percent of his previous 73 shots. The Knicks were 1-3 during that stretch.

Things appeared to spiral further the next night in Utah. The Knicks trailed the tanking Jazz by nine at halftime. Brunson had made just one of his eight attempts.

As the team headed to the locker room, Rick pulled Jalen aside.

“I said, ‘Hey man, everything’s good. You’re playing well, you’re playing a good floor game. You’re just missing your shots, so now you’ve got to concentrate on why you’re missing,’” Rick told Jalen that night in Utah.

“‘You’ve got to do more of everything — exaggerate your follow-through, exaggerate how high you jump, exaggerate the ball coming off your finger. You’ve got to walk that ball to the hole. You’ve got to visualize it.

“‘You’ve got to come out in the second half and just get back to who you are. I’ve seen you go 6-for-6, 7-for-7 in a half. You’ve got to block out what happened in the first half.’”

Rick’s message landed.

In the final two quarters, Jalen went 6-for-8 with 18 points, six assists and no turnovers during a 17-point win.

The Knicks marched on from there, closing the regular season with 12 wins in 16 games. They surpassed the 50-win mark for the second straight year.

And they are two wins away from the franchise’s first NBA Finals appearance since 1999.

* * *

Game 4 in Atlanta wasn’t the only fiery conversation between Jalen and Rick.

During a March game in Toronto, Rick didn’t think his son was playing sharply enough against Jamal Shead.

He didn’t hesitate to let Jalen know his thoughts. But Jalen wasn’t open to his dad’s feedback.

“He starts yelling back and I said, ‘You need to shut the f--k up and let me coach you. Don’t get too good to let me coach you. Because if you don’t want me to coach you, I won’t say s--t.

“You’ve got to play harder, you’re bulls--ting.’”

The message landed.

Jalen finished with 26 points and 10 assists in a 16-point win.

“Afterward he said, ‘You’re right. I needed that,'” Rick said.

Remember that viral interaction in Atlanta? It may have also had an impact.

Brunson is averaging 28.6 points on 53 percent shooting since Game 4 against Atlanta. He’s shooting 36 percent from three-point range and owns roughly a 4-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.

He and the Knicks are two road wins away from a sweep of the Cavs.

Rick will be on the sideline Saturday night in Rocket Arena. And he won’t hesitate to challenge Jalen again if needed.

“It’s about winning,” Rick said. “That’s all I care about. One of my closest friends is the (team) president — I want to win for him; I want to win for myself; I want to win for my son."

Nalod wrote:Never ending goodness!

WE need more Sons of knicks!!!

Based on my wardrobe and verbal tendencies, I'm going to demand that Clyde take a paternity test

ramtour420 wrote:Fucking ****. Fuck. FUCK. It may be too many beers. But I want to believe that we deserve this. I know it doesn't make any sense. But Brunson. The Brunsons. Damn. I feel like even being where we are is amazing. I am not saying it's good enough. The window is small. It's always too small for many reasons. But I am trying to feel it, to soak it all in. This is what redemption feels like. It's the path. I am loving every second of it. Every mistake. Every adjustment and every counter. Come on !!!

EwingsGlass wrote:

BlueKnickers wrote:

ramtour420 wrote:Fucking ****. Fuck. FUCK. It may be too many beers. But I want to believe that we deserve this. I know it doesn't make any sense. But Brunson. The Brunsons. Damn. I feel like even being where we are is amazing. I am not saying it's good enough. The window is small. It's always too small for many reasons. But I am trying to feel it, to soak it all in. This is what redemption feels like. It's the path. I am loving every second of it. Every mistake. Every adjustment and every counter. Come on !!!

Nope nope. Not fooling me.

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All that matters is "Wins"!!!

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https://www.twitter.com/thestrickland/status/2058653613799391467

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My fondest memories of EF as a Knick are us trailing by 20 points by the end of the first quarter. I think in every game he played, but that may need some fact checking. Good times!