According to reports around the league, former Mavericks point guard, Jalen Brunson is expected to sign with the New York Knicks for a four-year deal in excess of $100 million.
Brunson and the Knicks have been tied together for weeks now following the 2022 NBA Draft. The Knicks added multiple first round draft picks after trading the 11th overall pick.
New York also traded point guard Kemba Walker to Detroit to clear up over $9 million in space as part of the draft day trades. After the Walker move, the Knicks are expected to have $104 million guaranteed in current player’s salary, $18 million below the expected $122 million salary cap for next season.
Brunson is expected to command at least $20-25 million annually in the open market, so more moves will be needed by the Knicks to complete the signing.
Brunson averaged 16 points per game, while shooting over 50% from the field during the regular season. While not eye-popping stats, the guard’s postseason had many turning heads.
Brunson averaged 21.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 18 games in the 2022 playoffs.
New York has additional questions on the roster including the salaries of former All-Star, Julius Randle, and center Nerlens Noel.
How does Brunson’s contract fit Knicks cap?
Noel has a cap hit over over $9 million while Randle has a guaranteed year-to-year deal of over $20 million. The Knicks have also begun exploratory talks with potentially sending Noel to the Los Angeles Clippers. Other players such as Derrick Rose, and Alec Burks could also be seen as cap casualties with over $24 million combined in salaries and club options on both.
New York does have plenty of draft capital to also work a sign-and-trade with Dallas for the rights to Brunson. After the (many) draft day deals, the Knicks have 22 picks in the next seven drafts with 11 future first round selections.
Players are allowed to begin negotiating deals with clubs starting on June 30th.
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