The New York Knicks have a lot of star talent on their roster, which usually means that all of their financial resources would be attached to the players they currently have. However, they still have flexibility thanks to two very team-friendly contracts, one from their best player in Jalen Brunson and the other being from their most improved bench piece, Miles McBride.
Jalen Brunson took a historic pay cut to help the Knicks financially
Brunson could have waited until next year to sign a contract extension, where he would’ve been eligible for a super-max contract of five years and $269 million. However, he wanted to prevent the team from being handcuffed financially, so he signed a four-year, $156 million extension this offseason to not only stay with the Knicks long-term but allow them to continue improving the roster beyond 2024.
This was unprecedented in the league, as it is very rare for a player to be that bought into a franchise’s plans to build a championship contender. Brunson talked about why he chose to sign a significantly cheaper extension after he was officially named the captain of the Knicks last week.
“I’m completely comfortable with what I’ve done,” Brunson said last week (h/t SNY). “Myself and my family are, obviously, well off, that’s first and foremost. But I want to win. I want to win here.”
The Knicks now have one of the deepest rosters in the NBA
Brunson’s wish of winning in New York is coming closer to reality, as the team added Mikal Bridges in an offseason trade with the Brooklyn Nets and re-signed defensive menace OG Anunoby to a long-term deal. In addition, the team is getting important pieces back from injury, most notably All-Star Julius Randle and center Mitchell Robinson.
Brunson also just had the best season of his NBA career, being the fourth-highest scorer in the league with 28.7 points per game and being named an All-Star for the first time and also being named to second team All-NBA. With all of this in mind, the Knicks are now one step closer to trumping the Boston Celtics as the best team in the Eastern Conference and have a legitimate chance to win a title within the next few seasons.
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Miles McBride became one of the Knicks’ best bench players following a team-friendly extension
McBride’s contract is another that’s on the tier of team-friendly, as shortly after he signed a three-year, $13 million extension with the team, he broke out into a highly impactful bench player. In the last 49 games of the regular season last year, the former second-round pick averaged 10.7 points per game and shot 41% from three-point range while being an impactful defender.
In that same span, he started in 14 games and elevated his game even further by averaging 17.9 points, 4.1 assists and 1.4 steals per game on similar shooting efficiency. Very quickly, he became one of the league’s most impactful bench players and is on a contract of fantastic value.
If, down the road, the Knicks decide they need to shed some salary, McBride becomes an easy candidate for that as his value outweighs the contract significantly. There was talk of him possibly being a part of the Bridges trade since they have a surplus of guards on the roster, but ultimately he stuck around, proving that the franchise believes in him becoming a core part of the bench unit for the years to come.
The Knicks may not have as much money to go around as they did a couple of years ago, but thanks to these two contracts, they are still in a great position to add to what is already a very strong roster.