Researchers who study social networks in workplaces have found that having friends at work can make employees more productive and successful, not to mention happier. Friends can hold one another accountable in ways that acquaintances can’t, and a friend can help a new employee understand the workplace more quickly. So it was when Donte DiVincenzo signed with the N.B.A.’s New York Knicks in July. “It’s almost like you skip that introduction phase.”The Knicks have exceeded expectations this season. Some basketball pundits think this could be the year they reach the conference finals for the first time since 2000, when Brunson’s father, Rick, was a Knicks bench player.

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Persons: can’t, Donte DiVincenzo, Julius Randle, Josh Hart, Jalen Brunson, “, ” DiVincenzo, Randle, Brunson’s, Rick Organizations: New York Knicks, Madison, Knicks, Eastern Conference, Philadelphia 76ers