Jalen Brunson’s NBA Salary Questioned as His True Knicks Agenda Comes to Light

It’s been only two seasons for Jalen Brunson in the Knicks and the guard has already made himself the pack’s leader. JB’s commitment to the side is not only due to his official captaincy status for the next season but he is also looking for a winning team at the expense of his personal gain. How much did that cost Brunson? $113 million to be exact.

After the Knicks’ best finish to a season in a quarter of a century, the franchise is looking to build on that success. And Brunson is all-in with the plans to bring a banner to NY, so much so, that he sacrificed the massive amount mentioned to help the franchise in its project. But the 27-year-old has a reputation for being frugal so it came as a surprise to his teammate, Josh Hart, when Brunson gave the Knicks a $113 million discount on his new contract. This was one of the talking points in the latest episode of the Roommates Show and Brunson explained his true Knicks agenda behind his decision to forgo his due payday.

When asked about his thought process for opting for a $156 million, 4-year extension when he could’ve made $269 million, Brunson showed why he is the “Leader” of the group. “The process was simple. Let’s just be blunt and honest with it. It was the most money I can get at this point in time,” the All-Star said. “And obviously it made the most sense. You always wanna make sure that you’re set up for obviously to be well off with your family and your extended family and all that. But it was kind of simple. I wanted to be here.”

JB had a record-breaking post-season earlier this year with 4 40+ games in 13 outings. His 32.4 points per game led the Knicks to a conference semifinals, before succumbing to the Pacers. During the discussion, JB was asked if he was frugal to which the guard affirmatively said, “Absolutely”. “Hey, I live within my means. And so obviously this is a pay cut, but I’m able to make this last in a big way…I wasn’t really thinking it that way, but obviously it doesn’t really change how I live,” explained Brunson. Frugal or not, the $113 million relaxation from his contract helped the Knicks in a big way to comply with the Collective Bargaining Agreement and its apron restrictions.

Taking a closer look at the Knicks’ salary cap situation after Jalen Brunson’s $113 million discount

With the NBA’s newly introduced CBA, franchises are left in a lurch to avoid getting drawn into the super team mentality. The Suns and the Celtics are two teams going in that direction with salary projections nearing half a billion. That will cost them in the long run with draft restrictions, trades, and free agency signings for going over the 2nd apron for luxury tax. Currently, the Knicks find themselves 9th on active roster spending and 15th in cap space with a -$44 million crunch.

That only goes to show how significant Brunson’s sacrifice was to keep the cap space under the 2nd apron with a $181.3 million allocation for the 2024/25 season. Mikal Bridges’ addition was made possible due to Brunson’s cut-off contract as the former Villanova guard will make $23.3 million next season following his trade from the Nets.

OG Anunoby also signed a $212,500,000 5-year extension with the franchise, keeping the Knicks’ core intact. Now with the buffed roster, the franchise’s target will again be a deep playoff run with an NBA championship at the end of it.