Jalen Brunson Makes Unprecedented Sacrifice
The New York Knicks have had quite the hectic off-season trading for Mikal Bridges and re-signing OG Anunoby all while juggling the new NBA tax apron system. The team has run into issues with the salary cap costing the team key pieces like Isaiah Hartenstein while complicating the Knicks situation in the NBA Draft.
The New York Knicks should however have an easier path going forward as Jalen Brunson has agreed to the team on a massive team-friendly contract extension.
In a largely unprecedented financial concession to give roster flexibility to a contender, New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson has agreed on a four-year, $156.5 million extension, his agent Sam Rose of CAA tells ESPN --- $113M less guaranteed than he’s eligible to receive in one… pic.twitter.com/DDJvz7TUlr
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 12, 2024
The contract does give Brunson a massive boost over his current $24.9 million dollar annual salary but, it's an unreal move by Brunson to leave potentially $113 million dollars on the table.
The move by Brunson allows the Knicks to continue to build a championship contender around him going forward. This deal will help in keeping pieces like Josh Hart, Donte DiVincenzo, and Mikal Bridges in New York with Brunson. Hart certainly seemed to enjoy the news with the following tweet:
Build him a statue 🥲
— Josh Hart (@joshhart) July 12, 2024
This past season, Brunson emerged as one of the ten best players in the entire league going from a very good player to a true superstar. Brunson helped the Knicks advance to the second round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs and if not for injuries, they likely make the conference finals. Going forward, the Knicks should be year in and year out a contender in the Eastern Conference and for the NBA Championship.
When it's all said and done there will be no athlete in Knicks history as beloved as Brunson if he's able to win the Knicks a championship. During the entire 2000's, the Knicks were a laughing stock for the most part seemingly never heading in the right direction. Julius Randle signed on and helped fix the Knicks but, now the Villanova product has made the Knicks an attractive team to play for. Madison Square Garden should be filled with fans in Number 11 jerseys chanting MVP every game for Brunson because the Knicks have a special athlete and person in him.
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