Jalen Brunson took a massive pay cut to help the New York Knicks win a championship. And it worked. It worked perfectly. Now, other players – such as Luka Doncic and Anthony Edwards – around the league could feel the pressure. The pressure to take a pay cut themselves in order to help their teams win in a league where money is as important as ever. Jay Williams said as much.
This is what he had to say on ESPN’s Get Up: “I've talked to a couple of different players that could be Supermax this year or next year — they're starting to feel a little pressure from team owners by saying, 'Yo, Jalen Brunson left 113 million dollars on the table. What are you going to do?'”
So, as guys like Doncic and Edwards become eligible for new contract extensions, Brunson’s actions in New York could put them in a tough spot.
Jalen Brunson's pay cut could put pressure on Luka Doncic, Anthony Edwards, and others
When Brunson took a pay cut, it was so the Knicks could have enough money to make big trades and pay all the players they traded for. And again, it worked.
They were able to pay Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, and even Josh Hart. Without Brunson’s pay cut, the Knicks almost certainly wouldn’t have been able to keep that core intact.
Fast forward to today, and the Knicks have just won a championship with that exact core as their starting lineup. Everything Brunson did back then worked out exactly as it was supposed to.
And if you take a look at the positions the Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angeles Lakers are in right now, both teams could benefit from their stars taking pay cuts.
Edwards’ current contract ends in 2028-29, and Doncic’s ends the same year (though it’s a player option that he could decline). So, in the next couple of years, those two guys will sign extensions.
The Timberwolves have a pretty pricey roster. Rudy Gobert, Julius Randle, Naz Reid, Jaden McDaniels, and more. Even if they trade Gobert and/or Randle this summer, it will almost certainly be for an equally expensive player.
Meanwhile, if the Lakers want to get Doncic enough help to win, they are probably going to have to spend a lot of money on supporting pieces up and down the roster.
If Edwards and Doncic took Brunson-like pay cuts, it would make it much easier on their teams. That probably won’t happen, but Brunson definitely put those two guys – and others signing future extensions – in a tough position.
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