On Tuesday, the Knicks reportedly agreed to trade center Nerlens Noel, guard Alec Burks, two future second-round picks and $6 million to the Pistons. It is unclear what the Knicks will get in return.
What is clear, though, is that the deal, plus a separate trade the Knicks made with the Pistons and Hornets on draft night, will leave the Knicks with roughly $30 million in cap space ahead of Thursday’s start of the free agency period. They aim to offer a four-year, $110 million contract to free-agent point guard Jalen Brunson, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Why are the Knicks so interested in Jalen Brunson?
Brunson has long been coveted by the Knicks, and the steps they’ve taken to this point in the offseason seem to indicate that the team is pretty confident it will be able to bring him to the Big Apple. Earlier in the offseason, the team hired Rick Brunson, Jalen’s father, to its coaching staff.
The 25-year-old Brunson is coming off his best offensive season, flourishing in a role behind Luka Doncic in Dallas. Brunson averaged over 21 points in the 2021-22 playoffs, helping push the Mavericks along to the Western Conference finals.
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Knicks president Leon Rose has known the younger Brunson the guard’s whole life; Rick Brunson was Rose’s first player client during his time as an agent.
New York has had issues finding a mainstay starting point guard for the better part of the last 30 years, and Brunson would go a long way toward solving that.
What do the Pistons get out of all this?
On Detroit’s end, it could be poised to be a major player in free agency in 2023 should it choose not to exercise Burks’ and Noel’s options. Along with other potential roster moves, the Pistons could be working with around $35 million in cap space.
