3 goals for Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson in 2022-23

Goal No. 1: Help lead the Knicks to the playoffs

Sometimes the best goals aren’t measured by a specific number or how many of something you average.

Any time a non-playoff team decides to pay a player ‘X’ amount of money in free agency, they’re doing so because they believe he can bring them to the promised land. So before anyone tries to talk about how many points or assists Brunson should average in 2022-23, the first thing they should look at is the win column.

The Knicks finished 37-45 last season, missing the play-in tournament by six games.

Simply put, if Brunson can’t help New York to the playoffs in year one, that’s the biggest failure that could happen given the reason why he was brought in.

Of course, there are some uncontrollable things that also could factor in. If any Knicks star gets hit with the injury bug, it’s unfair to place the blame on Brunson. If New York does land Donovan Mitchell – this could be a very unpopular take – and the team isn’t able to gel right away, Brunson shouldn’t be scrutinized. All good products take time to flourish.

However, from the standpoint of where we are now and who would be on the team if the 2022-23 NBA season started today, the number one goal for Brunson should be to help lead the Knicks to the playoffs.