Donovan Mitchell is signing a four-year extension with the Cleveland Cavaliers projected to be worth nearly $273 million. By the time Jalen Brunson’s current contract is up, he’ll have given the New York Knicks a championship point guard for around $90 million less.
Talk about a lucrative road not traveled.
Granted, back in the summer of 2022, the Knicks weren’t treating their star pursuits as a Brunson-or-Mitchell proposition. They attempted to swing a trade for Spida even after signing JB. But they still needed to walk away from the bargaining table in the wake of Cleveland’s offer for Mitchell.
And it turns out that decision gave them their championship lifeline for nearly nine figures less than the star considered their primary target.
The Donovan Mitchell extension makes Jalen Brunson’s contract(s) look more ridiculous
Brunson’s current deal runs through 2028-29 (player option). When it wraps up, he will have earned roughly $235.6 million since joining the Knicks. During this same window, Mitchell will have taken home a total of $322.5 million.
That’s a difference of…$86.9 million. Which is absurd.
Of course, Brunson has the ability to sign an extension next summer that would erase his 2028-29 salary. If he puts pen to paper on a max this time around, his projected salary will go from $43.3 million to $63.9 million.
This would shave $20.6 million off the running total between him and Mitchell. Yet, even then, the Knicks will have at worst paid Brunson $66.3 million less than the player they were believed to be chasing before him. Over that seven-year span, this comes out to more than $9 million per season—a huge gap when talking about All-NBA talents.
As if we needed even more evidence Brunson is one-of-one when it comes to taking discounts.
Jalen Brunson saved the Knicks more than money
Mitchell’s extension is also a good reminder that Brunson isn’t just a billboard for financial sacrifice. He also prevented New York from overpaying for his counterpart, or even another star.
Think about it: It would not have been so easy for the Knicks to punt on trade talks for Mitchell in 2022 if Brunson wasn’t already under contract. Sure, not even they could’ve known he would turn into this. But they clearly valued him more than the rest of the league. And especially more than the Dallas Mavericks.
Signing Brunson in 2022 gave the Knicks a potential North Star to point toward. Remove him from the equation, and the front office might’ve shelled out enough draft equity to beat Cleveland’s mammoth Mitchell offer.
From there, New York would not have still wielded the assets necessary to get OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, or even Karl-Anthony Towns. And if it doesn’t net Mitchell, maybe it’s compelled to join the eventual sweepstakes for an aging James Harden, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, or someone else. There’s certainly no guarantee it sits around and waits another half-decade for Giannis Antetokounmpo.
For all of the money and flexibility Brunson has saved these Knicks, giving them the bandwidth to be more patient and selective when building the roster is just as critical. They have the championship credentials to prove it.
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