SPANISH HARLEM – Lately, being a New York Knicks just keeps getting better and better. One day, we trade for Mikal Bridges. The next, we extend OG Anunoby for 5 years. Now this. Jalen Brunson signs to extend at less than he could have received if he waited another year.
The good vibes are fully flowing for this team and organization. Nothing screams leader more than the actions of Brunson. Would we have faulted Jalen for waiting and taking the bag? Most certainly not. This is expected in the #NBA; you get what any team is willing to pay you. Next year the Knicks would have offered the 5-year max at 269 million without blinking an eye. Instead, he will get a 4-year 156.5 million extension.
He is the most beloved Knick and there was no way the organization would let him leave. By taking less this year, though, he did not do himself any favors. What he did do, however, allows the Knicks to stay under the 2nd cap apron. That affords them more flexibility to still make moves that can improve the club.
Maybe this looked like an easy decision for Brunson, but how many guys in the league would take the same approach? Maybe 1 percent… maybe only Jalen Brunson.
He knew his best chance to win a championship was to keep this group of players together. He wants to play with Hart, DiVincenzo and Bridges for more years and also field a competitive team, one capable of winning a championship every season. He cared more about winning than he did money and that is rare in this day and age. Kudos to him, and from every Knicks fan around the world, THANK YOU!
At the time of this printing, there are rumors that Bridges may take the same path as Brunson. Time will tell on that story but as Josh Hart would say “The vibes are immaculate.”
That’s it for now, come back tomorrow for Action Jackson Sternberg.
