Knicks star Jalen Brunson takes unprecedented pay cut in new contract extension

The New York Knicks have made some big moves this offseason to build what looks to be a real championship contender in the Eastern Conference, which includes a trade to bring in Mikal Bridges. But on Friday, perhaps the biggest factor in the Knicks contending in the future came to fruition, which involved star point guard Jalen Brunson.

Brunson has proven to be the heart and soul of this new-look Knicks team, starring this past season and earning his first All-NBA Second Team honor.

The Knicks have done an excellent job of building around Brunson. But the money is quickly running out in New York, particularly if they want this current team to stick around together with the current salary cap in place.

On Friday, Brunson helped those concerns in a major way with his new contract extension, agreeing to a four-year, $156.5 million extension, first reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Obviously, you may be wondering why this kind of deal would help the Knicks in any way. But this deal is actually far less than the five-year max contract Brunson was eligible for if the waited until 2025.

That deal would have resulted in the Knicks giving Brunson a five-year $269 million deal, which means the Knicks saved $113 million in guaranteed money in this extension for Brunson.

As Wojnarowski illuded to, this will give the Knicks all sorts of flexibility to further build their roster throughout the duration of Brunson’s deal.

A player of Brunson’s caliber is well worth all of the guaranteed money that he could have received if he waited until 2025. But Knicks fans were quite appreciative of Brunson valuing team success over the maximum amount of money he could have received.

Now, it is on the Knicks to find a way to continue to build a championship-caliber roster around Brunson. Because after this kind of deal, the organization certainly owes him at least that.

[ Adrian Wojnarowski on X ]

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