Why Knicks fans should expect team-first Jalen Brunson to sign extension this offseason

Jalen Brunson had a career-high 519 assists last season. His first one for 2024-25 may come on July 12.

Brunson is eligible for an extension on that day, for as long as four years and as much as $156 million. If he forgoes the extension, Brunson will be eligible for a five-year, $270 million contract in the 2025 offseason.

Obviously, Brunson’s extension would give the Knicks immense financial flexibility. And I believe Brunson will listen openly to the Knicks on a possible extension when the time comes.

If Brunson agrees to it, this would be yet another example of the player putting the Knicks’ financial flexibility ahead of his own.

Brunson is currently in Year 3 of a four-year, $104 million contract that descends in value. So his current deal gives the Knicks more cap flexibility over the course of the contract. Brunson’s descending contract also decreases the starting salary of his next deal. Meaning he’s already sacrificed financially to help the Knicks.

Under the extension, the Knicks would pay Brunson $113.1 million between 2025-26 and 2027-28. If he were to sign a max contract in 2025, the Knicks would pay Brunson $150.6 million between 2025-26 and 2027-28. That $37 million savings would loom large for New York as it tries to navigate the financial limitations of the new collective bargaining agreement.

If the Knicks’ team salary exceeds the second apron, it would severely limit their options to add players.

Beginning in 2024-25, teams over the second apron lose access to any midlevel exception. They also are prohibited from combining multiple player salaries in a trade. In other words, if you want to trade for a player making $20 million, you have to trade one player making roughly the same salary in order to make the deal work.

Second-apron teams also can’t send cash to help get deals over the finish line or trade their first-round pick seven years into the future. If a team then remains in the second apron for two of the next four seasons, its first-round pick seven years out won’t just be frozen, it will automatically be moved to the end of that first round — or the 30th pick.

If the Knicks re-sign OG Anunoby and Isaiah Hartenstein and guarantee Bojan Bogdanovic’s 2024-25 salary, they would be a luxury tax team and inch closer to the second apron. Obviously, every dollar matters for high-salaried teams looking to compete for a title and avoid that second apron.

That’s why Brunson taking the extension would be a major development for the Knicks. It would also speak to the kind of leader he is. A lot of players talk about putting the team above themselves; Brunson talks about it and backs up his words with his actions, like signing a descending contract in 2022.

If he signs an extension this summer, Brunson would be making a $37 million sacrifice, at minimum, over three seasons.

Looking ahead, there is a scenario where the extension sets Brunson up for a bigger contract in the future. If he signed an extension with a player option in the final season, Brunson can be eligible for a 10-year veteran level max contract in the 2028 offseason. So even if you factor in that free agency deal, Brunson would be giving the Knicks a major assist — and taking on significant risk — by signing an extension this summer.

Getting to know a little bit about Brunson over the past two years, I expect him to listen earnestly when he and the Knicks sit down for extension negotiations. Newsday scribe Steve Popper reported last month that "all indications" pointed to Brunson being willing to sign the four-year $156 million extension. I think Popper’s report is dead-on. If I’m placing a bet today, Brunson and the Knicks will ultimately agree to terms on an extension, but it will not be guaranteed for the full four years.

Obviously, plenty can change between now and July 12, when Brunson is first eligible for the extension. The NBA offseason always delivers a few unexpected twists and turns. But barring something unforeseen, the Knicks will have every opportunity to sign Brunson to a team-friendly extension next month.