Knicks' Jalen Brunson sits out reunion in Dallas with sore right hip
Knicks guard Jalen Brunson looks on against the Toronto Raptors in the second half of an NBA basketball game at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
DALLAS — The last time that Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle were gathered at American Airlines Center it was Brunson on the court helping the Mavericks in the first game of the playoffs against the Utah Jazz, with Randle in the stands — along with three members of the Knicks front office.
Now the homecoming for them came under markedly different conditions. Randle’s arrival will be less controversial than it was when he was seen as on a recruiting mission with Brunson facing off against Donovan Mitchell — two targets for the Knicks front office.
And for Brunson, the return came in street clothes. He was unable to play as he was sidelined for the first time this season with a sore right hip, an injury suffered in Sunday’s loss to Philadelphia.
Brunson, who has said — and seemed to prove this season — if he can walk he would play, apparently couldn’t force his way in this time. He did not participate in the Knicks morning shootaround and wasn’t on the court for his normal pregame warmup session. While Brunson has forced his way onto the court through pain already this season, playing nearly 40 minutes and carrying the team to an overtime victory in Chicago two weeks ago when he was a game-time decision with a foot injury, this time he was held out.
“Yeah, and you trust your medical [staff],” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said before the decision was announced. “Obviously, he has a big say in it but you put everyone together. He’s going to make a good decision.”
The reception for Brunson’s return was uncertain, too, with the circumstances of his departure from Dallas. Since leaving the Mavericks for the Knicks as a free agent, the process finally culminated in a minor punishment for the Knicks last week with the NBA rescinding the 2025 Knicks’ second-round draft pick, ruling, “ . . . that the Knicks engaged in free agency discussions involving Jalen Brunson prior to the date when such discussions were permitted.”
When Brunson agreed to a four-year, $104 million deal with the Knicks the Dallas Mavericks, at least publicly, did not hold a grudge.
“No hard feelings. I wish him nothing but the best,” Mavs owner Mark Cuban said, standing courtside at the Thomas and Mack Center in the Las Vegas Summer League. “You bust your [butt] and you have that choice. He deserves it.
“It happens. It’s the way this league works. It’s a business. You trade a player, you say it’s a business. You lose a player, it’s a business. It’s just the way it goes.”
Any applause or boos for Brunson would have to come from a sighting on the bench.
“Yeah, hopefully get some cheers,” Randle said of Brunson’s return. “That’d be good.”
“I think it’s sort of the nature of our league,” Thibodeau said of how he expected Dallas fans to greet Brunson. “They have great fans here. I think there’s an appreciation anytime a player does well for your organization and the organization was great for him, too.
“That’s sort of where our league is. It’s not like it was 10 or 15 years ago. Players change teams and it’s all part of it. Everyone’s fan base has an appreciation for the type of player that he is. I think a player that gives his all every day and puts the team first there’s an appreciation for that league-wide.”
In Brunson’s place the Knicks inserted Immanuel Quickley into the starting lineup. Quickley made his first start of the season last week when the Knicks faced Toronto, subbing for Quentin Grimes that night.
Notes & quotes: There was also a reunion with the Mavericks' Kemba Walker after his time with the Knicks last season. He said there was no bad blood about the opportunity turning sour with his departure from the team — first by leaving to rehab on his own and then being traded in the summer. “Just being able to play for the Knicks,” he said, “That’s always been a dream of mine to be able to play for the Knicks. I got my opportunity. Obviously, it didn’t work out the way I would have liked it to, but it happens. But one of my childhood dreams came true, playing in the Garden consistently in front of the New York City fans. I had an amazing time to be honest.” Thibodeau said, “Look, I love Kemba. Kemba has been a great player in the league for a long time. The only issue we had with Kemba was health. If Kemba’s healthy he’s a great guy and he’s a great player.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
