The Knicks clearly appear to be one of the top two teams in the East, but star guard Jalen Brunson doesn’t want his teammates to believe that means an automatic return to the conference finals, he told D.J. Siddiqi of Games Hub.
“Hopefully we don’t have that mindset going into the season where we think we’re just going to jump back into the Eastern Conference Finals,” Brunson said in an interview this week. “We need to be able to go through this process again and continue to get better and to fight to get over that hump.”
New York returns the core of a roster that fell two games short of a trip to the NBA Finals last season. The team is counting on improved depth after adding Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele in free agency, along with several other talents who will compete for roster spots in training camp. The Knicks also made a coaching change, with Mike Brown considered more likely to rely on a deep bench than his predecessor, Tom Thibodeau.
Brunson believes the offseason maneuvering has put the team in position to succeed at the highest level.
“I think we’ve been taking steady steps every year,” he said. “The best part about our team is the chemistry we’ve grown and we’ve created. A lot of people help us on this journey, and to be able to be where we are now, it’s nothing to be satisfied about. Everyone says, ‘Oh, you need to get experience.’ Well, this is us getting experience. This is literally us going through the trials and tribulations of being a good team. So continue to do that and just find a way to see what can we do to get over that hump.
“It’s going to take all of us. It’s not going to take just one change or another small thing. It’s going to take all of us together to kind of put everything aside and pull together.”
Brunson was also complimentary of center Karl-Anthony Towns, who expanded the team’s offensive capabilities after being acquired from Minnesota shortly before the start of last season. There won’t be a learning curve for Towns as he prepares for his second year in New York, and Brunson believes he can be even better after earning third-team All-NBA honors.
“Having him as a teammate has been really fun,” Brunson said. “I think that gets overlooked how good of a teammate he is. Obviously, he’s a great player and what he does on the court. But the teammate he is and what he brings to the locker room for us is special. So I’m really happy to have him. Don’t think you can compare him. He shoots the ball so effortlessly, and he can make plays. He has great touch around the rim, so he’s pretty much his own person. He picks different games of styles of basketball, and kind of makes it into his own.”
I didn’t understand the firing of Tom Thibodeau and thought it was a bad move, but in hindsight and reading the words of Jalen Brunson, I can understand it now.
We all know paying the price again The next season is a very tough ask. That’s probably why we don’t see a lot of repeats in the NBA.
Only the super elite get that done. Michael, Steph, Kobe and Shaq, the Spurs, LeBron’s multiple finals in succession.
It’s very difficult to pay that price again because you saw the tremendous cost it took when you accomplished it the season or two seasons before.
So I understand why a coaching change was made. It’s a risk but that new voice in the locker room to get these guys to pay that price again is something they decided. I get it.
Thibs has multiple coaching issues that are well documented…
He doesn’t rely on a bench, rarely develops players and whatever his practice and rest methods are have clearly been wrong as his teams are often leaving the playoffs due to injuries…
Brown may not be the right choice, but if manangement also felt that Thibs had reached the ceiling and a new voice was needed… They had too many reasons to pull that plug and fire Thibs…
Well, since Brunson says it’s all about chemistry, let’s see if this year’s chemistry is as good with the Knicks new coach. Or better? Apparently, in spite of all the deficiencies mentioned above about Coach Thibodeau, he built great team chemistry. Yep, when I watched them play they had a style and played well together. Was it talent or chemistry? Obviously they now have an abundant of talent.
Thats such nonsense. He’s developed players nobody believed in. Got the best of most players. As far as Knicks go. He does have to accept blame for not playing developing his bench. Yet he still won 51 gms. And as you can see now. Its all about fixing the bench. Thibs didn’t adjust well to Pacers. That’s why he is gone. He fixed the Knicks. Something no one could do since Ewing years.
I’m half and half with you on that. Players were believed in, hence being drafted by them. Question is, which I think you’re pointing out, is did he help them reach their full potential? I think he certainly helped develop McBride, but Grimes seemed to flourish elsewhere (and I thought he had the most potential of them all).
He gets results, but at a cost. If the finals were two or three rounds deep he’d be a legend, but as witnessed last year, he simply got out coached.
Hoping Brown gives us a better shot. He’s certainly respected by players and that goes a long way over Thibs who had a love/hate relationship with players.
Helped Quickley get his bag. He did help Grimes. He was starting here. Grimes wilted under Donte pressure. But he learned to be a 2way guy from Thibs. He helped Mitch, Sims, OG, Brunson, Hart all stepped up their game from Thibs teachings bro.
Plenty of Bulls players who owe him too. He always preaches hard work and commitment it will make you better. And he helped and pushed all the guys he saw it in them. Just on what he did in NY in 5yrs. He belongs in HOF. Dude 17 coaches including interim since 1999 . Last time they were in Finals. It’s why I say he fixed the Knicks …..
link to google.com
IQ was a little different in my opinion. He came in from a top program with a higher expected ceiling – more likely to succeed, which he did. I agree Thibs did well with him and certainly didn’t hurt his cause, but IQ I thought was a level above the others.
The number of players Thibs has developed into their best versions is far shorter than the number of players who have flourished elsewhere or after Thibs got fired…
It’s safe to say that list is also shorter than the number of players who have had shorter careers because of playing under Thibs…
My personal opinion is. Thibs clashed with Dolan and Rose over Towns. The truth is he had a great opportunity to go to Finals. And he didn’t do it. Bench or no bench. Gave owner a reason to fire him.
I think there is truth to that, Al. I don’t think Towns was the biggest fan of Thibs’s workout schedule. I don’t think he was alone, either. I assume at the season-ending exit interviews, this was the sentiment conveyed by the players to management. And that would lead to Thibs clashing with Dolan and Rose.
This is my side take on that…
The workout schedule is what causes the injuries…
Lots of players love playing for Thibs… Those who have enjoyed success eslewhere before playing for Thibs often have a similar complaint about workouts…
KAT wants to play for a long time… As soon as the front office traded for him I knew Thibs wasn’t going to last long…
KAT just isn’t the Butler type and does it quietly
First off don’t put Bron in that category. He needed Dwade and Bosh to win two in a row.
I included him because he went to so many finals in a row with the Cavs. Much respect to LeBron for paying that steep price over and over. Just my opinion.
Bron deserves to be there. He is all about winning. One of smartest basketball players ever.
I agree w Gary, I’m not even a huge LBJ guy but the warriors getting KD definitely disrupted any kind of chip momentum that felt inevitable in his second Cavs tenure .
I don’t like what-ifs but I make an exception w the KD dubs. Having a 70 win team with 2nd best player in the league, then swapping your 4th starter for the 3rd best player in the league, is too drastic to not be a qualifier here imo
Warriors only returned 7 guys from that 70 win team who LOST the championship.
They were going nowhere fast. They needed someone who could score the ball outside of curry. So they went out and recruited the best.
I think GS would’ve been heard from the rest of the decade even without KD. Maybe not 2 more chips, but I would bet at least one, I mean look at 2022.
I’m not saying that the alternative to KD was keeping the team stagnant. Change is natural. But it was a historical anomaly that several factors converged — salary cap spike, Cavs somehow pulling off 2016, and KD being a wimp — that allowed them to make such an insane upgrade without destroying the team.
You make great points and you are 100% correct.
I guess I’m dwelling on a couple things like more Greymond implosions and longer suspensions.
That and double and triple teaming of Curry and their bench getting pretty old.
Andre Iguodala, Andrew Bogut, Maurice Spieghts, Jermaine O’Neill, Zaza Pachulia, David West.., all these guys in their 30s.
But I think your points are a little more valid.
I know things have changed since I played competitive in the 1970’s, but it isn’t just the stars. All the players feel fulfilled and repeating requires everyone to step it up – which is Jalen’s message, I think.
Right mindset and no Thibs to wear out the starters…
Jalen is the leader of this team. And you can see by his choice of words why… Towns had a solid year for a first year. His team D has to improve. I love Hart but not a big fan of him starting. It puts OG on other teams PF usually. Then we lose his advantage at the 3. I don’t see Yabusele starting. In season I can see a trade for defensive stud at the 4. He can watch Towns back. And it keeps OG and Bridges fresher. Hart can always still give us 30 mins off the bench. We will see after 25-30 gms.
Imo Towns team D deficiencies. And Bridges scoring 22 a game. Are the two most important things to work on. Now that they have addressed the bench. This team has only been together for a year. So you have to expect team growth. Brown is a lot like Thibs imo. Probably not as thick headed. So he will give guys a chance to fail. Knicks as a team have to be thinking East Finals. And better ….
I’ll be honest here – I think Brunson could be the greatest leader in Knicks history. He may not get a ring with them, but his actions on and off the court deem him so in my book. He stood by his coach when criticized (and even when he disagreed), took less for more, and played when he thought he could provide and sat when he knew he’d hurt the team. Oakley was the last true leader I thought the team had until Brunson.
He is definitely up there with Ewing, Reed, Frazier, etc already. Maybe a couple of years from now, he’ll be considered the best leader in Knicks history. Need a championship, imo, to reach that level. If they win one, he’ll get a statue outside of MSG.
Frazier was/is my fave. He had Reed. Reed had Bradley. Bradley had Monroe, etc. That team was loaded with leaders. I always thought Oakley was more of a leader than Ewing. Ewing lead by talent, but Oak brought the attitude. It wasn’t until the trade for him that they began to point upward.
I see Brunson somewhat on his own with this current team.
He’s up there ……. let’s give him time
Its still The Captain Willis. You should read up on him. I love Brunson …. a gamer. need some rings lol