A lot of big deals were signed on Thursday night as NBA free agency began but few deals garnered more attention than the New York Knicks officially signing Jalen Brunson, formerly of the Dallas Mavericks.
Brunson cashed in big time and earned himself a deal worth $104 million for four years.
That’s a hefty sum of money and it left many fans of the young man ecstatic, while some people were scratching their heads.
But even with the naysayers, Brunson had a chorus of NBA pros who were elated to see the young man earn a huge payday.
Some of the West’s best young players seem to think that the Knicks are making a smart move by paying big money to Jalen Brunson. pic.twitter.com/0Lf6fMop0p
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) July 1, 2022
Mikal Bridges of the Phoenix Suns was one of the first to praise Brunson on Twitter, saying, “Yall must not know how cold JB really is lol.”
That was followed up by Desmond Bane of the Memphis Grizzlies, who replied with, “Bro got game!”
Ja Morant followed that up with “GAME.”
They’re all right: Brunson is a very talented and exciting young player.
Yet, will he solve all of New York’s problems?
Brunson Goes Big Time
With a paycheck like the one he is getting, the Knicks expect a lot out of Brunson.
They think he is the sort of guard they can build an entire rotation around.
However, there are a lot of question marks about him: even with his spectacular last season some are wondering if he’s ready to lead a team.
He certainly stepped up when Luka Doncic was away from the Mavs so the Knicks are hoping he can play like that all season long for them.
There may be some wishful thinking involved in this deal.
On the other hand, Brunson might really be ready to take this leap and the next step in his career.
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