Josh Hart wants a Jalen Brunson statue after Knicks extension sacrifice

Brunson agreed to a four-year, $156.5 million extension, which is $113M less guaranteed than the five-year, $269.1 deal he’d be eligible to sign next summer.

ESPN reported that franchise stars like Patrick Mahomes, Derek Jeter and Tom Brady provided Brunson “a blueprint for MVP-level players who structured contracts to give their teams the best chances at sustainable title runs.”

The deal helps the Knicks avoid the dreaded second apron, which allows them to keep making trades and adding around the margins to their young core. 

The extension starts in 2025-26 and includes a player option for the fourth season, when he’ll be 31.

Once this deal is up, Brunson could make up for the lost salary by signing a veteran max deal estimated at five years, $418 million. 

In late March, Brunson hinted that “security” was an important thing to him when it came to contract negotiations this summer. 

“Obviously that’s a thing that you want, to obviously have security,” Brunson said.

With Brunson locked up, most of the Knicks’ impact players — OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, Hart, Donte DiVincenzo, Mitchell Robinson and Miles McBride — are signed through at least the 2025-26 season.

Julius Randle, who has a $31 million player option for the 2025-26 campaign, is the only major rotation piece for the Knicks that’s not currently on a long-term deal.