NBA Rumors: The New York Knicks reportedly have a ‘very real’ chance at signing Jalen Brunson this offseason.
After the 2022 NBA Draft, there were only more questions about what exactly the New York Knicks were about to do.
The Knicks traded out of the lottery twice, bypassed on potentially selecting Jalen Duren, and used one of those lottery picks to trade Kemba Walker. It wasn’t exactly a textbook draft for the Knicks, but it was clear something was up.
And, perhaps, we’re finally beginning to find out.
According to a recent report from Marc Stein, the Knicks have a “very real” chance of snagging Brunson away from the Mavs when free agency opens. They’ve already begun to clear cap space (and still have work to do) for a major pursuit and the expectation is that they will offer him a huge contract when free agency starts.
Once everything the Knicks did at the draft unfolded, you had to believe that there was some backchanneling going on. I’m not sure the Knicks would trade out of the draft lottery – twice – if they didn’t believe that they had at least a decent shot at landing a big free agent, such as Brunson.
From all indications, it appears that New York’s No. 1 goal this offseason is to shore up their point guard position and, in the process, emerge as a real threat to compete in the Eastern Conference this season.
I’m not sure if signing Brunson alone would accomplish that, but it’s something that the front office firmly believes in.
Of course, the big question is whether the Knicks will actually be able to pull it off. And if they can, whether a core of RJ Barrett, Brunson, and Julius Randle would be enough to make noise in the East.
You have to credit the Knicks; they’re at least trying. But this seems like another potential big swing and miss. We shall see.