Jalen Brunson Priceless Player for Knicks

New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson still has two years left on his current contract. However, thanks to negotiations that took place this summer, Brunson is signed on to play the next six seasons with the Knicks.

Brunson was expected to opt out of his contract at the end of the 2024-25 campaign and sign a max extension that could have been worth over $269 million. However, he signed a cheaper extension that gives the Knicks room to sign other players to help complement him, leading to the possibility of winning more championships.

Bleacher Report writer Grant Hughes praised the contract, naming it the one move he “loved” about the Knicks offseason.

“We can check the talent-acquisition (Mikal Bridges) and talent-retention (OG Anunoby) boxes for the New York Knicks’ offseason, but neither of those moves mattered as much as Jalen Brunson’s willingness to sign a four-year, $156.5 million extension. Had New York’s best player waited until the summer of 2025, he could have inked (and would have deserved) a five-year, $269.1 million deal,” Hughes writes. “It’s so rare to see a player of Brunson’s caliber take even the smallest discounts, let alone leave nine figures on the table. In addition to the financial savings the Knicks will incur, it’s difficult to put a price on the positive vibes Brunson’s selflessness imparts to the team.”

Now that Brunson has made arguably the biggest financial sacrifice in NBA history, the Knicks have to take advantage. The Knicks have the financial freedom to build a champion around Brunson as he leads the way. The team has a decent-sized window to get this done thanks to the length of the extension, which means anything less than a championship in the Brunson era would be an absolute disappointment for the Knicks.

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