In a rather unsurprising move, the New York Knicks made a trade with the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday to pave the way for their rumored Jalen Brunson signing.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Knicks are trading center Nerlens Noel and guard Alec Burks to the Pistons, unloading $19 million in salary in the process. As part of the deal, New York will be sending back to Detroit its 2023 second round pick on top of a 2024 second-rounder and $6 million cash.
The Knicks are trading center Nerlens Noel and guard Alec Burks to the Pistons, sources tell ESPN. The Knicks will unload $19M more in salary, clearing the way for cap space to try and sign free agent guard Jalen Brunson.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 29, 2022
Overall, through the move, the Knicks have now opened up $30 million in cap space to sign Jalen Brunson. For those not in the know, the ‘Bockers are reportedly ready to offer the 25-year-old guard a four-year deal worth $100 million–with some even saying it could go as high as $110 million.
Considering the amount of room the Knicks have made, they certainly won't have a problem giving Brunson $27.5 million per year.
The Knicks have cleared $30M in salary cap space to offer Dallas' Jalen Brunson in the neighborhood of a max contract. The unloading of assets and contracts clearly shows the Knicks' confidence that they can secure Brunson once free agency opens on Thursday.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 29, 2022
For the Dallas Mavericks, however, this is certainly bad news. Surely, the Knicks won't clear that much cap space if they are not confident about landing Brunson, who has been linked with them for almost all of offseason.
The move also erases any possibility of the Mavs working on a sign-and-trade with the Knicks to make the contract work. New York never needed the help of the Mavs to sign Brunson, and they certainly didn't see the need to help them and give them extra assets in return.
Free agency starts on Thursday, and Brunson's situation is certainly one to watch.
Follow Us
Subscribe