In the quietest period of the NBA offseason, investigative reporter Pablo Torre dropped explosive news regarding Kawhi Leonard signing a $28M endorsement deal with a fraudulent tree-planting company funded by Clippers owner Steve Ballmer as a way to circumvent the salary cap. Then, Torre joined the Dan Patrick Show and vaguely suggested that Jalen Brunson could have been involved in a similar situation.
Speaking on the Dan Patrick show, Torre stated that he had received plenty of tips telling him to look into Brunson's contract situation as well. Torre didn't get into many specifics, but he did say it was "certainly interesting" when discussing how Brunson arrived with the Knicks.
Torre did not get into further specifics about what was interesting about the situation. One could assume it had to do with Brunson signing what was called "a largely unprecedented" four-year, $156.5 million extension with the Knicks back in July of 2024. The reason the deal was unprecedented was that Brunson left $113 million on the table.
No concrete claim Knicks have done anything wrong
It is important to reiterate that Torre did not claim that the Knicks or Brunson did anything wrong, simply teasing that it was potentially something he would look into or report on in the future.
He also noted that people had told him to take a look into James Harden's contract situation as well, who, along with Leonard, is a member of the Clippers.
If Torre were eventually to report something similar about Brunson, it would obviously be disastrous. However, nothing of the sort has been stated yet.
Brunson's contract has set the Knicks up for success
For now, Brunson taking that pay cut has set the Knicks up to compete for a championship for years to come. They have constructed a formidable lineup around him, consisting of an All-NBA co-star and plenty of high-end wing defenders and shooters.
Last season, the Knicks' major weakness was their lack of depth, something that the front office addressed this offseason by signing Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele to bolster a bench that was last in both minutes and scoring last year.
Not only has Brunson's pay cut allowed the Knicks to add high-end talent, but it has also allowed them room to extend them as well. This offseason, the Knicks inked Mikal Bridges to a four-year, $150 million deal, which could potentially keep him in New York through the remainder of the 2020s.