Tracy McGrady sees locker room ‘friction’ amid Knicks’ slump

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Paolo Mariano, ClutchPoints

Tue, Jan 20, 2026 ·

2 min read

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Coming off the high of their triumph in the NBA Cup, an achievement that roused hopes of a title run, the New York Knicks have suddenly hit a wall.

The Knicks were embarrassed by the Dallas Mavericks , 114-97, at Madison Square Garden on Monday for their fourth straight loss. They fell to 25-18, including 2-9 in their last 11 games. Fans showered them with boos in the first half, as they trailed by as much as 30 points.

At one point during the game, Jalen Brunson was seen talking animatedly to his teammates on the bench.

For NBA legend Tracy McGrady , the Knicks might be suffering from internal issues .

“You are an established team that went to the Eastern Conference finals last year. To come back with all the motivation to try to make it to the finals because you have the same identity and roster, and you’re playing like a team that doesn’t know who you are. There’s some friction in this locker room that needs to be ironed out,” said McGrady on NBA on NBC.

“I don’t know who, what, coach, player. Something has to be done because this can’t continue.”

Even though the Knicks were back in full force with the return of Brunson and Josh Hart from injuries , they still failed to beat the Mavericks. They only shot 40% from the field and conceded 32 fast break points. They never led in the contest.

McGrady, who played briefly for the Knicks in 2010, noted that the team’s chemistry needs to be fixed to avoid compounding the supposed problems.

“If I don’t like you, why am I playing hard? Because I have a grudge, I’m holding something towards you or the coach or the system,” added the Hall of Famer.

The Knicks will face the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday.