The NBA world was hit with a bombshell report from NBA insider Pablo Torre on Wednesday when he revealed that the Los Angeles Clippers attempted to circumvent the salary cap by signing Kawhi Leonard to a phony $28 million endorsement deal.
NBA insider hints at possible Jalen Brunson piece
The New York Knicks could be the next team Torre exposes. He hinted on the Dan Patrick Show that a story about Jalen Brunson and his historic pay cut last summer could be in the works.
“Well, look, how he arrived at the Knicks, this is where I have to defer to the reporting I may or may not do on this, certainly was interesting,” Torre said. “Right? Like, O.K., that’s a pretty good deal for the Knicks. Anyway, I don’t want to get ahead of myself in terms of that.”
Brunson signed a contract extension last offseason that left an unprecedented amount of money on the table. The extension was for four years, worth $156 million, but if he had waited until this offseason, he could have signed for five years, worth $269 million, which would have made him one of the highest-paid players in the league.
The Knicks could face big consequences if found to have circumvented the salary cap
For a player of his caliber, taking that big of a pay cut is almost completely unheard of, as he could have cashed in much bigger had he waited an extra year. Brunson has been praised for taking the discount, as it kept the Knicks below the second apron and allowed them to build a highly competitive team around him.
However, if it is discovered that the Knicks circumvented the salary cap in a similar way that the Clippers did with Leonard, there could be major consequences on the way. The NBA is investigating the situation with the Clippers, and if they are found to be guilty of wrongdoing, they could have to pay huge fines and forfeit draft picks.
New York previously had to forfeit a draft pick after they were found to have tampered with Brunson during his free agency in 2022. As of now, anything against Brunson and the Knicks is speculation, but a big expose piece could soon be revealed.