The Knicks appear to be working to clear up cap space to make a big push for Jalen Brunson, and the Mavericks reportedly believe that if New York has the financial flexibility to offer a competitive contract, the point guard will end up in New York.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, there is “a growing resignation” within Dallas that the Knicks are Brunson’s top choice and his “inevitable destination,” which, in the eyes of the Knicks, would finally solve their crippling cold streak of searching for a stable solution at the point guard position.
Knicks brass was in attendance to watch Brunson in action with Dallas during the postseason, and recently dealt away Kemba Walker to shed his salary on a draft night that saw the Knicks elect on freeing up cap space and acquiring future draft capital instead of making a lottery pick. Now, recent reports suggest the team has discussed trading Nerlens Noel to shed more salary, and Alec Burks could be another piece on the move to make way for Brunson.
ESPN's Tim MacMahon also reports that New York is "widely anticipated" to sign Brunson to a four-year deal for more than $100 million, but of course, they still need to clear the cap space to afford that contract. So expect Noel or Burks to be moved to make room for Brunson.
MacMahon adds that it "remains to be seen" if Dallas can get something in return from New York for facilitating his move to the Knicks.
Due to NBA rules, Dallas would only be permitted to take back half of Brunson's new salary with the Knicks. So for example, should he receive a contract starting at $25 million per year, Dallas would be able to take back a player making $12.5 million. That's where Burks' $10 million or Noel's $9.2 million salaries could come into play, so Mavs aren't left empty-handed. But the Knicks are under no obligation to do Dallas any favors here.
Brunson is eligible to receive a five-year, $175,450,000 offer from the Mavericks this offseason. But a contract that large has never been discussed this offseason by the basketball insiders.
According to MacMahon, Dallas had an opportunity to sew up a four-year, $55.5 million contract extension with Brunson before the season, but they didn't offer him a deal after he struggled in the team's 2021 first-round playoff series loss to the Clippers last year.
Dallas also passed on making him an offer in the middle of the season after Brunson cemented himself into the starting lineup for good after he was slated to be a temporary fill-in for an injured Doncic.
The fourth-year guard responded by parlaying a breakout regular season (career-high 16.3 points per game) into an even better postseason, averaging 21.6 points throughout the Mavs’ playoff run.
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