Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks have gotten off to a relatively strong start to the 2023-24 NBA season. The Knicks currently sit with a solid record 12-7 record leading into Tuesday night's in-season tournament road game against the Milwaukee Bucks, and Brunson has continued to play at an All-Star level to help supplement the Knicks' talented cast of role players.

One player who has been perhaps a bit better than Brunson this year among Eastern Conference point guards is Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton, who looks poised to record his second straight All-Star appearance later on this season, and now, ESPN sports media personality and noted Knicks fanatic Stephen A. Smith is revealing that he actually lobbied for the Knicks to draft Haliburton back in 2020.

“I know a few members of the Knicks… I was arguing with them,” said Smith on ESPN's First Take. “‘Draft Haliburton. You got Julius Randle. You ain’t gonna play Obi Toppin so much… You need Haliburton!’”

While Knicks fans are certainly happy with the sustained production that Jalen Bruson has been able to produce over the last two years, few if any point guards in the entire NBA have matched the level of Haliburton this year, as the point guard uses his dynamic skillset on a nightly basis to lead what has been arguably the best offense in the NBA up to this point for the Pacers.

Still, hindsight is 2020, and the Knicks' signing of Brunson last offseason has undoubtedly worked wonders for the franchise. The Knicks and Bucks are slated to tip off at 7:30 PM ET.