After a tremendous season with the Dallas Mavericks, Jalen Brunson took a $110 million deal from the New York Knicks and left Luka Doncic for the Big Apple. You can't exactly blame him, however, because Brunson now gets the chance to be a starting point guard for a storied franchise, although they're not exactly a contender right now.
But, it appears there was one major reason behind Brunson's decision: A clear opportunity to become an All-Star for the first time in his career.
Jalen Brunson has yet to rise to All-Star level, but league sources say that the presumed boost to his All-Star chances by moving from the Western Conference to the East was indeed among his motivations for agreeing to leave the Dallas Mavericks for the New York Knicks.
This certainly makes sense. Both conferences are stacked with star power, but making the All-Star Team in the East is definitely more of a possibility, especially at the PG position. Jalen Brunson should make the Knicks better, but they will have to tailor their style of play to suit him more.
New York likes to rely on three-point shooting, while Brunson is the type of player who does most of his scoring inside. There should be no problem for him finding comfort with the Knicks though, considering his dad, Rick Brunson, was just hired as an assistant coach. That heavily indicated the former Villanova standout was considering a move to MSG.
Jalen Brunson averaged 16.3 points, 4.8 assists, and 3.9 rebounds per game last season and shined during the postseason, especially when Luka missed time. It'll be interesting to see if he can reach his All-Star goals and if 2021-22 is any indication, we can expect big things from Brunson.
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