Knicks' deal with Jalen Brunson isn't salary-cap cheating — despite criticism

Brunson's 2024 extension

Some observers cried foul when Brunson signed a four-year extension last summer for $156.5M. That contract starts this season and runs through 2028-29, though Brunson can opt out of the deal in the summer of 2028 or extend his deal again in 2027.

That's significantly less than Brunson could have received had he waited until this summer to sign a new deal, when he would have been eligible for a five-year deal for $269.1M. Some suggested that the discounted deal was due to the Knicks promoting his father, Rick Brunson, to the lead assistant job on former head coach Tom Thibodeau's staff.

Differences with Kawhi Leonard's reported deal

If Brunson's deal was really designed to move money off the Knicks' salary cap and into his father's pockets, an assistant coach's salary is hardly the perfect vehicle. The Knicks haven't disclosed the elder Brunson's salary, except to say that it's the same as his predecessor, Johnnie Bryant, who left to take a similar job with the Cleveland Cavaliers. They called the NBA's investigation of Brunson's promotion "harassment" and issued a statement that read, in part: "It's offensive that anyone would claim Rick didn’t deserve the promotion. Rick has done a tremendous job and will continue to do so."

Whatever Rick Brunson's raise might have been, it was far less than the money his son gave up. In addition, Brunson had been one of Thibodeau's assistants at previous jobs with the Chicago Bulls and Minnesota Timberwolves. Hiring his father might have helped lure Brunson to the Knicks, but even then, the Dallas Mavericks could have simply re-signed him themselves, but they offered less money than the Knicks.

It's more plausible that the deal is exactly what it seems: Big money for Jalen Brunson that still allowed the Knicks the cap flexibility to trade for and extend his college teammate, Mikal Bridges.

Brunson could make up the money

The oft-cited figure of $113M is the difference between Brunson's extension (through 2029) and what he could have signed in 2025 (through 2030). But that doesn't take into account Brunson's eligibility for a big extension down the road, when his added years of experience could get him an even bigger contract in two years.

The bottom line is that, until some evidence comes out that the Knicks are secretly funneling money to Brunson, there's nothing nefarious about the All-Star's extension. He might have access to more endorsement opportunities by virtue of playing in New York, but unless those deals are with a company Knicks owner James Dolan invested in directly, as Clippers owner Steve Ballmer did, Brunson can shill for whoever he wants. And so can his father.