The New York Knicks made a marquee free agent pickup, signing Jalen Brunson to a four-year, $104 million deal. Brunson comes over from the Dallas Mavericks, where he flourished in the backcourt alongside Luka Doncic. Although the contract has been scrutinized by the media, no one can deny the Knicks have been in need of a point guard, and at the very least, they have solved that issue for the near future.
While Brunson doesn’t turn the Knicks into a ‘Big Three’ of any kind, he does add a winning mentality with the potential to grow even more. The former Villanova Wildcat helped his team to two national championships and was a key part of numerous Dallas playoff berths.
Jalen Brunson should look to check off these goals in his first season with the Knicks
Brunson isn’t expected to be the sole difference maker in turning New York around, but he will be counted on to help turn the blue and orange into a playoff team. He’s a win-first point guard who can add scoring and be a useful playmaker.
Knicks culture tends to embrace players like Brunson, so fitting in with his new team shouldn’t be an issue. However, the pressure of playing in New York can be heavy, so like everyone, there will be some goals Brunson will be expected to hit.
Whether or not these are actually written in his contract doesn’t matter. Brunson will be making more than any other Knicks player this upcoming season, so there will be many eyes watching to see how he performs in year one.
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.
Goal No. 2: Average a career-high in assists
Instead of putting a number on how many assists Brunson should try to average, this goal should be for Brunson to continue to improve his ability to lead an NBA offense.
Last season, Brunson made a new career-high in assists per game, averaging just shy of five. He did that on a Mavericks team that features Luka Doncic, who finished the season fifth in assists per game.
If Julius Randle is still on the Knicks in October, Brunson will be in a similar position, as Randle is a non-traditional playmaking big who puts up some big numbers as a passer.
However, New York didn’t sign Brunson to play second-fiddle in the playmaking department. The Knicks finished dead last in the Association in assists per game last season. They also finished 30th the year before. The last time New York had a point guard who averaged at least five assists per game for consecutive seasons was when Raymond Felton was in town.
The biggest thing the Knicks are looking for out of Brunson’s game is consistency as a playmaker. Sure, Elfrid Payton had a very solid season setting up teammates three years ago. Other guys have come in for a single year and put up nice numbers by finding guys for buckets.
But Brunson was signed to do this for the long-term, not just as a filler as management searches for the next guy. Brunson is that next guy.
Goal No. 3: Become an even better defender
There are a lot of NBA qualities we already know Jalen Brunson will provide. He’s an established winner. He’s a proven playmaker. Brunson can create his own shot and will give the Knicks another scoring threat.
But the only question mark is his defense. And Tom Thibodeau commands good defense.
Now, this is not a knock on Brunson’s effort on defense. After all, at 6’1″, his height limits his ability to guard bigger guards. However, there’s always room for improvement.
Last year, Brunson saw his biggest leap in steals per game since entering the league in 2018. Knicks fans would be thrilled if it went up again.
After all, steals per game is the easiest way to measure how effective a point guard is on defense.
Going deeper into the analytics, Brunson’s defensive rating in 2021-22 was 111.8, fairly close to a few other guards in Kyle Lowry and Jordan Poole. Defensive rating measures how many points a player allows per 100 possessions. That alone tells us that while Brunson may not force a lot of takeaways per game, he does a decent job at keeping the offensive player in front of him.
However, there’s always a next step a player can take, and if Brunson can become a better defender, I’m sure Knicks fans would be even happier about having him in New York.
3 Jalen Brunson stats that New York Knicks fans will love
The Knicks' big acquisition, Jalen Brunson, could be an All-Star in the future. Some stats reveal potential stardom for the point guard.