Now that the New York Knicks ended their championship drought, every move they made along the way looks much better in hindsight. Regardless, Jalen Brunson effectively taking a $37 million pay cut to give Leon Rose's front office flexibility was always going to stand out as one of the most impactful decisions — by anyone with the organization — en route to that title.
Brunson's decision to extend in 2024 didn't come with a literal discount. The point guard took as much money as the Knicks could offer him. The team-friendly part, though, was the fact that he didn't wait to sign a much bigger deal in 2025.
Over in the Western Conference, Nikola Jokić is taking the opposite path with the Denver Nuggets. The 31-year-old center could've extended this summer, but is waiting until 2027. Nobody should expect every star to take pay-cuts. But especially after Victor Wembanyama took "just" a maximum contract, not a supermax, Jokić doesn't exactly come away looking great — just for hoping to be paid what he's worth.
Brunson's Finals MVP left other NBA superstars in a tough spot
It would've been one thing if Brunson had simply taken the contract he did, passing up on the bigger payday the next summer, and the Knicks struggled to get over the hump during that contract. In the first year the "discounted" contract took effect, though, the guard established himself as one of the NBA's bona fide 1A superstars — and the 2026 Finals MVP.
However, it's impossible to do New York's title run justice without mentioning Karl-Anthony Towns, who they could afford to pay more than $50 million last season in part because of Brunson's sacrifice. The same goes for OG Anunoby, whose scoring, defense, and fingertips all fired at star levels throughout the postseason.
The Knicks wouldn't have been the Knicks without the flexibility afforded to them by Brunson's leadership. The guard decided that he ultimately valued winning, and how it could potentially impact his legacy and earnings, over anything else. He's also spoken to the peace that signing early allowed him to play with, as opposed to fearing injury ahead of a career-defining extension.
With Jokić turning 32 about halfway through the 2027 regular season, and his 7-foot stature lending itself to potential questions about his late-career conditioning, it makes sense that he wants to lock in one last payday. He did, after all, deliver the Nuggets the 2023 NBA Championship (and take home a well-deserved Finals MVP trophy, even if he didn't care much for the hardware).
Players, and people in general, should be able to do whatever they want — so long as others are free to notice it. Tim MacMahon and Brian Windhorst, to that effect, spoke on The Hoop Collective about Jokić's navigation of his next deal coming off as the "exact opposite" of Brunson and Wembanyama.
Neither felt that the all-time center was a flight risk, expecting him to sign another contract in the Mile High City next summer. It just further highlights how unique stars like Brunson and Wembanyama are, for reasons on and off the basketball court.
NBA stars that want to secure every bit of their worth that the CBA allows are not villains. NBA stars that are willing to sacrifice off-court earnings in search of on-court legacy, though, are showing they deserve the extra praise.
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