Offseason Report Card: Knicks get an A+, an A, three Bs and four Cs for summer moves

1. Jalen Brunson extension

Jalen Brunson signed a four-year, $156.5 million extension, beginning in 2025-26 with a player option for 2028-29.

Jalen Brunson signed with the New York Knicks two years ago on a contract that has become one of the best bargains in the sport as he has blossomed into an MVP candidate and All-NBA point guard. Now he will remain on a below-market contract for the foreseeable future, a reality that unlocks the future for the Knicks.

Brunson could have waited until next summer and signed a longer maximum extension, making $11-13 million more per season than he will on this extension. That would have come with some risk of a significant decline in play or career-threatening injury changing his market next year. Yet that risk is relatively low; this move was more so about giving the franchise financial flexibility to build and maintain a contender in the midst of the new second tax apron era.

The Knicks believed in Brunson and made him their centerpiece star, they have employed his father for years, and they gathered Brunson's friends and college teammates to the team to compete around him. It must be awesome to go to work in such an environment and to play home games at Madison Square Garden. Clearly those intangibles played into Brunson's decision to sign such an extension.

For New York, that extra money saved will play a major role in staying under the second luxury tax apron, keeping their team-building options open even as new contracts for Mikal Bridges and Julius Randle come into play. It's a massive coup for the team and could be the difference between reaching the NBA Finals or not in the years to come.

Grade: A+