New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson convened a players-only meeting at Madison Square Garden on Monday night, immediately after a home loss to an injury-shortened Dallas team, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported.
Sources told Shelburne that Brunson emphasized the roster — not the coaching staff — must correct the club’s recent slide. New York has dropped nine of its last 11 games and, at 25-18, sits third in the Eastern Conference, just 1.5 games ahead of the seventh-place Cavaliers.
Locker-room frustration surfaces
The Knicks trailed by 28 at halftime and ultimately fell by 17 in a contest that never tightened. “We all need to do some soul searching,” guard Josh Hart said afterward. “Right now we’re playing embarrassing basketball. Offensively we’re not executing, and defensively we’ve been abysmal all year.”
Brunson, the team captain, expressed confidence that the group can rediscover the form that produced a 23-9 start and an in-season tournament title. “That soul searching should have started a couple of weeks ago, but we’ve got to start tomorrow,” he told the New York Post’s Stefan Bondy. “I have the utmost confidence in every person in this locker room. Things haven’t gone our way, but we have the ability to do it.”
Brown’s blunt halftime message
Head coach Mike Brown offered no excuses after Dallas put up 75 first-half points. “At halftime, we usually talk X’s and O’s. There was nothing to be said except, ‘Lock in and do your f***ing job,’” Brown recounted to The Athletic’s James L. Edwards III. Edwards wrote that the franchise should seriously contemplate major roster moves before the trade deadline.
Deadline scenarios examined
In a separate piece for The Athletic, Fred Katz dissected five trade proposals submitted by fans. One idea would send Guerschon Yabusele and Pacome Dadiet to San Antonio for forward Jeremy Sochan as a cost-cutting maneuver. Katz said he would pass on the deal and believes the Knicks likely would as well unless no better options emerge for Yabusele or Dadiet.
Sideline hug draws ire
During an appearance on NBA Today, Shelburne added that some within the organization were displeased with Brown after last Thursday’s loss at Golden State. Following a foul by Draymond Green on Karl-Anthony Towns, Brown — a former Warriors assistant — shared a sideline hug with Green. “That hug did not land well with a lot of folks in New York,” Shelburne said.
The Knicks return to action later this week looking to halt their skid and solidify their standing in a crowded Eastern Conference race.
Source: HoopsRumors
