Knicks Rumors: Jalen Brunson is team’s top offseason priority

We know the New York Knicks have had some pretty abysmal point guard play over the last decade, but this season truly takes the cake.

Between both Kemba Walker benchings, Derrick Rose’s ankle injury that has sidelined him for basically half the season, and Alec Burks being utilized out of position as the starting QB1 of the team, the Knicks’ point guard situation may have finally hit rock bottom.

The one silver lining has been the increased reps for Immanuel Quickley, albeit only in a small capacity as the bench backup … but it’s better than nothing.

RJ Barrett has also come into his own, mostly in the scoring department, but has also improved leaps and bounds as a playmaker. Nonetheless, the fact remains: the Knicks need to aggressively pursue a point guard this offseason. And we may have good news on that front.

As per Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report:

"“There will be a level of turnover in New York this summer. The Knicks have been open to discussing the majority of their roster in varying capacities dating back to the 2021 draft. They are expected to target the point guard market particularly, with Jalen Brunson widely known to be at the top of New York’s wishlist.”"

The Knicks are rumored to be aggressively pursuing Jalen Brunson

As Fischer mentioned, I would also expect there to be some turnover for the roster. I don’t even think that they’re going to necessarily add too many pieces in free agency or make any huge trades, but I do believe that they’re going to go with an “addition by subtraction” approach.

Finding a new home for Burks and Nerlens Noel should be a top priority this summer. If I were Leon Rose, I’d do whatever I could to unload the two of them without having to take back any players. This way, you immediately find playing time for either Quentin Grimes or Cam Reddish as well as Jericho Sims at the center position. Both are also on expiring deals so this shouldn’t prove to be too tall of a task.

Additionally, the Knicks need to address the point, and Jalen Brunson couldn’t be a more perfect fit for both the team and organization. He’s proven time and time again that he can be counted on to run the Mavericks’ offense in place of Luka Doncic. It’s his time now.

There were some recent reports suggesting Brunson was looking for a new contract in the realm of $20 million per season. If the Knicks can’t unload enough salary, they may have to convince the former Villanova star to take a discount.

Rose, Brunson, and Brunson’s father, Rick Brunson, remain close friends to this day as Rick was Rose’s first client when he started out as a player-agent many moons ago.

So, while this season may have been a lost one, the future looks pretty bright for our beloved orange and blue as long as some of these rumors come to fruition.