Knicks New Leader Jalen Brunson on Tom Thibodeau & 'Very Capable' Julius Randle
Jalen Brunson is one of the New York Knicks' latest hires but workplace chemistry isn't going to be a problem in his new Manhattan office.
Appearing on the "Good Word with Goodwill" podcast, the Knicks' $104 million man couldn't hide his excitement about collaborating with Julius Randle and head coach Tom Thibodeau in an interview with Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo! Sports. While Brunson fully admitted that he would "definitely miss" North Texas after the Dallas Mavericks hosted the first four years of his career, both Randle and Thibodeau appeared to have played a role in his decision to continue his career in New York.
Though Randle's New York future is anything but clear, Brunson believes that the 2020-21 season's Most Improved Player can return to form. Goodwill noted that while Randle is far from a traditional point guard, he's been the one that mostly handled the ball for the Knicks. Brunson is far from worried about a potential power struggle.
"Julius is very capable of doing things on the ball," Brunson said. "As long as we're winning games. We've got to try and find ways to win games. I think we have a very good opportunity to do so.
"It's going be different for me, it's going to be different for a lot of people. But I've never backed down from a challenge ever and I don't plan on doing so here."
Brunson came up big for the Mavericks during the team's surprising run to the Western Conference Finals last spring. The Knicks' lack of postseason consistency has been well-documented, as the team fell from fourth to 11th in the Eastern Conference playoff standings in their most recent seasonal outing.
Part of the drop-off came from a lack of production at the point guard spot, where the Knicks have been left unsatisfied for several seasons. The team hoped to have Kemba Walker fill the void but he was instead traded after a disappointing single season to help make financial room for Brunson, who is inked for the next four years.
The pressure at point guard rises with head coach Tom Thibodeau back in New York for another year. While Thibodeau may be on the hot seat in his third year at the helm, his prior success with point guards (i.e. Derrick Rose, Rajon Rondo) can't be denied.
Brunson brushed off any idea of "blocking out" Thibodeau, believing their respective styles can work alongside one another. His excitement is only compounded by the fact he's not only returning to the tri-state area (he was born and raised in New Brunswick, NJ) but he'll also be working with one of his first and closest mentors, his father and new Thibodeau assistant Rick.
"I don't think I'm ever going to block him out," Brunson said. "Obviously Thibs is Thibs. I think I've learned how to carry the message out of everything. When someone is getting on you or someone's trying to motivate you to be better, you can't really worry about if he's yelling or screaming or whatever. You've just got to take the message and keep it moving."
"Me knowing Thibs for a long time, he knows that ... I can be coached, I can be pushed. I'm not really too worried about that. I'm actually very excited because the fact that this whole thing is coming full circle is actually really special."
