The New York Knicks aren't exactly being subtle. Just because they hired Jalen Brunson's father as an assistant coach, though, doesn't mean the Dallas Mavericks are any more concerned about losing the free agent guard to New York in free agency.

One day after the Knicks added Rick Brunson to Tom Thibodeau's coaching staff, veteran NBA journalist Marc Stein reports Dallas has confidence that development won't impact Jalen Brunson's decision this summer.

There is no grave concern bubbling (yet) in Dallas about the Knicks' hiring of Jalen Brunson's father Rick to join Tom Thibodeau's coaching staff. It has been known throughout the league that Thibodeau has wanted Rick Brunson on his staff from the moment he joined the Knicks entering the 2020-21 season and not because it will help New York lure Rick's son Jalen Brunson away from the Mavericks in free agency this summer.

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The Mavericks believe New York would be their toughest competition to sign Brunson even if his dad wasn't the Knicks' latest hire.

The Knicks would be the most serious threat to sign Brunson away from Dallas, with or without his father's presence, if they had the requisite salary-cap space.

One of the breakout stars of this season's playoffs, Brunson will arguably be the top free agent point guard on the market when free agency opens in July. New York's front office brass famously sat courtside in Dallas for a first-round game between the Mavericks and Utah Jazz, an ostensible show of the franchise's interest in adding Brunson or Jazz star Donovan Mitchell to the fold.

Rick Brunson, a former nine-year NBA veteran, has long served as his son's primary skills and development trainer. The elder Brunson's history with Thibodeau dates back decades, most notably to 1997 when he participated in the Knicks' training camp. Thibodeau was a New York assistant at the time under head coach Jeff Van Gundy.