It appears that the Jalen Brunson free agency sage is coming to a close before it could even officially begin. After early NBA free agency reports that the Villanova product was most likely to re-sign with the Dallas Mavericks and continue building upon a core that reached the Western Conference Finals last year, it now seems that he’s headed to the New York Knicks unless something drastically changes.
To their credit, the Knicks have done everything they could to present Brunson with the best free agency pitch possible. They made multiple moves to clear as much cap space as possible to offer him a contract that the Mavericks wouldn’t feel confident competing with. They even hired his father, Rick Brunson, as an assistant coach for Tom Thibodeau’s bench.
After wheeling and dealing out some shrewd moves during the 2022 NBA Draft to shed salary and accumulate future assets, the Knicks are now in a prime position to poach Brunson away from the Mavs.
Their latest trade, a deal that will send Alec Burks and Nerlens Noel to the Detroit Pistons, freed up $30 million in space for New York putting them near max-contract territory for Brunson. In return for taking on the Knicks’ unsavory contracts, the Pistons nabbed two second-round picks and $6 million in cash as part of the deal.
LATEST NBA FREE AGENCY NEWS AND TRADE RUMORS: New York Knicks Now Expected To Land Jalen Brunson In Free Agency
That trade with the Detroit Pistons made it clear that the Knicks are fully confident that they’ll be able to sign Jalen Brunson once free agency opens. Since they’ll no longer have to swing a sign-and-trade deal for the soon-to-be-former Dallas Mavericks star, the Knicks retain most of their assets for another move down the road.
According to Marc Stein, the second part of the Knicks’ offseason might involve trading for another rising star guard. The option they could pursue is Dejounte Murray of the San Antonio Spurs, who has recently found himself being included in trade rumors.
It’s believed that the Knicks could pivot to trying to make a run at San Antonio’s Dejounte Murray via trade or another target of Murray’s caliber…even if [Leon] Rose, as increasingly expected, secures Brunson’s signature.
The Spurs are reportedly seeking four first-round picks to part with Murray. The Atlanta Hawks have been linked most often as a potential trade suitor for the All-Star guard. However, other teams including the Minnesota Timberwolves have registered interest.
LATEST NBA FREE AGENCY NEWS AND TRADE RUMORS: New York Knicks Now Expected To Land Jalen Brunson In Free Agency
With the San Antonio Spurs’ steadily increasing asking price for Murray, it may be difficult for New York to find a way to meet their demands. One thing is clear, though: New York isn’t done with just Brunson.
