Jalen Brunson became a Knicks legend this summer. First by leading New York back to the second round of the playoffs, the first time New York had made the second round (or farther) in the playoffs since 1999-2000.
Then, after the season, he took a massive discount with his next contract.
Why? Brunson said because he wants to win in New York — and yes, he realized what he was doing.
“I think about every decision that I make and I’m completely comfortable with what I’ve done,” Brunson said, via the Associated Press.
“Obviously I’m well off, myself and my family, we’re obviously well off, so that’s first and foremost. But I want to win. I want to win here.”
Brunson agreed to a sweetheart deal to help out the Knicks: four years, $156.5 million. It’s a sweetheart deal because if Brunson had played out his contract and become a free agent, then next summer, he could have re-signed with the Knicks for five years, $269.1 million — that’s $112.5 million more than he took. Or, to look at it another way, Brunson agreed to a contract that pays him an average of $39.1 million a year for the next four years, but if he’d waited he could have averaged $53.8 million a year.
For Brunson, it’s worth it to win.
New York made its big move this offseason by trading for Mikal Bridges, a coveted two-way wing who averaged 19.6 points a game last season in Brooklyn. This is a bet on fit — Bridges is another Villanova guy who should mesh well with the Knicks rotation — and the sum being more than the individual parts.
Brunson wants the Knicks to take a step beyond the second round.
Jalen Brunson on the Knicks team and next season ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/HMdC00u6j2
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) August 8, 2024
Here is what he told Stefan Bondy of the New York Post.
“It’s nice to hear that we’re contenders, but I think we have to go into training camp without having that word be spoken...
“Obviously I said I want to get past the second round after getting there two straight years. But we can’t just go into the season and jump right back into the second round. We’ve got to go back and start all over again. We have some new pieces and some familiar faces, so what can we do with it? What type of team do we want to be?”
