After several rejections, the New York Knicks are finally getting their associate head coach.
ESPN’s senior NBA insider Shams Charania reported on Aug. 8 that the Knicks are finalizing a deal with Charlotte Hornets assistant coach Chris Jent to become Mike Brown’s associate head coach.
Jent’s hiring came on the heels of a report that Indiana Pacers assistant coach Mike Weinar has removed himself from consideration for a front-of-the-bench role in Mike Brown’s coaching staff, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Post, citing family reasons and loyalty to Rick Carlisle.
Previously, the Knicks were also turned down by Minnesota Timberwolves assistant coach Pablo Prigioni, New Orleans Pelicans associate head coach James Borrego, and Dallas Mavericks assistant Jay Triano, among others.
Mike Brown’s Top Lieutenants
Jent will be the Knicks’ offensive coordinator, while former Los Angeles Clippers assistant coach Brendan O’Connor will helm the defense under Brown.
SiriusXM’s NBA Radio host Frank Isola previously reported that Jent is the leading candidate.
Jent had a brief stint with the Knicks during the 1996-97 season. He appeared in only three games, averaging 2.0 points.
Jent was also on Brown’s coaching staff in Cleveland from 2006 to 2009. He recently guided the Charlotte Hornets to the NBA Summer League title in Las Vegas — the first championship of any kind for the franchise.
Jent also won a championship as a player with the Houston Rockets in 1994, ironically, against the Knicks.
The 55-year-old Jent has been working as an assistant coach in the NBA since 2003. He once coached the Orlando Magic in an interim capacity during the 2004-05 season and logged a 5-13 win-loss record. His other head coaching experience was in the NBA D League (now G League) with the Bakersfield Jam (now the Motor City Cruise) during the 2015-16 season.
Jent was the most experienced assistant coach on the Hornets staff and will leave for New York for a much-deserved promotion.
Getty Former New York Knicks head coach Larry Brown with Brendan O’Connor sitting on the back.
On the other hand, the Knicks leveraged their relationship between their top executive and O’Connor to pry him away from the Clippers.
“O’Connor worked as a Knicks assistant under Larry Brown and has close ties to Knicks executive William Wesley,” Isola reported on X.
Wesley, known as “World Wide Wes,” was a power broker behind the scenes during Brown’s coaching stints in Detroit and Philadelphia.
Chris Jent Bumps Rick Brunson on Knicks Bench
Jent will take over from Rick Brunson, Knicks star Jalen’s father, who was the associate head coach last season under Tom Thibodeau. But the elder Brunson will remain as one of Brown’s assistants, albeit with a lesser voice and role, according to Bondy.
After Thibodeau was fired, Sam Amico of Hoops Wire reported on Rick Brunson’s presence causing friction among the Knicks players.
“Per Hoops Wire sources, multiple Knicks players have been unhappy with the presence of assistant coach Rick Brunson, the father of star guard Jalen Brunson. What that issue is, exactly, has not been determined, though sources suggested that Rick has had too big a say in things,” Amico wrote on June 4.
Amico added in his report, citing one source, that Rick Brunson is “the person with the most power in the entire organization.”
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