Much like death and taxes, Jalen Brunson ending up with the New York Knicks was inevitable. All that lingered was, when would it be official and what would the terms be?
On Thursday evening, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski answered both of those questions. He reported that Brunson and the Knicks had agreed on a four-year deal for $104 million with a player option in the final year.
Free agent guard Jalen Brunson has agreed to a four-year, $104 million deal with the New York Knicks, his agents Aaron Mintz and Sam Rose of @CAA_Basketball tell ESPN. The deal includes a player option on the final season.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2022
There was one common joke among NBA fans following Wojnarowski’s report.
not sure how anyone could have seen this coming. https://t.co/DbbKhmaP4E
— John Hollinger (@johnhollinger) July 1, 2022
Jalen Brunson agrees to sign with the Knicks for the 13th time this week https://t.co/eeHdAEiRgK
— Panda Hank (@pandahank41) July 1, 2022
Bruh save yourself the embarrassment we knew this two days ago https://t.co/uy3Pdesohb
— Mavs Film Room 🐴🎥 (@MavsFilmRoom) July 1, 2022
https://t.co/WFyvGKYDUH pic.twitter.com/mP54xnbOcu
— Matt Clapp (@Matt2Clapp) July 1, 2022
Now it’s official https://t.co/19jBOHrjma pic.twitter.com/ACTW6OtPwq
— Stan Him Boomer Sooner (Hunter Harjo) (@hunterharjo7) July 1, 2022
What a surprise! https://t.co/l7GDcUNKuu
— Callie Caplan (@CallieCaplan) July 1, 2022
Hilarious effort to avoid the tampering charges from Brunson’s camp and the Knicks. Legit LOL.
— Jason Patt (@Bulls_Jay) July 1, 2022
Not tampering bc it got announced at 9:33 pm. https://t.co/fnFJC3lnHQ pic.twitter.com/3m89XVbq0M
— Cheryl (@hellocheriexo) July 1, 2022
Woj 💣!!!!!!!!! Always finds a way to shock us this guy https://t.co/7AgNV5BAj4
— Rit Holtzman (@BenRitholtzNBA) July 1, 2022
Wow, that really came out of nowhere. https://t.co/ZAGPo82bEu
— Michael Kelminson (@mjk2341) July 1, 2022
Indeed, Brunson going to the Knicks registered the same kind of shock that a person running up to you and telling you that the sun rose in the east this morning would.
In signing with the Knicks, Brunson added his name to a short list of players in New York history and created a new list of his own among players in NBA history.
Jalen Brunson is the 4th player to sign a $100 million contract with the Knicks, joining Carmelo Anthony, Julius Randle, and Allan Houston.
He's the first player in NBA history to sign a $100 million deal with a new team despite having never been voted an All-Star. pic.twitter.com/Ov58tkTugt
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) July 1, 2022
That said, while Brunson has never been an All-Star, he’s coming off of a nice season. Brunson averaged career highs with 16.3 points, 3.9 rebounds 4.8 assists and 0.8 steals per game with the Dallas Mavericks during the 2021-22 season. He’ll also be 26 when the next season begins.
Brunson’s performance will certainly need to be better to justify that salary. But he’s trending in a positive direction to make that happen.
[Adrian Wojnarowski, ESPN Stats & Info]
