Knicks Star Jalen Brunson Drops Cryptic Tweet After Kyrie Trade

Getty New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson prepares himself for a game against the Brooklyn Nets.

The hardwood world was knocked off its axis when news of Kyrie Irving’s impending move from the Brooklyn Nets to the Dallas Mavericks broke on Sunday. And the very next day, New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson sought to make a similar impact on NBA Twitter with a tweet that left some wondering about his future in NYC.

At 4:15 p.m. ET on Monday, Brunson updated his timeline with a no-context post that read simply, “Bro no way.”

In short order, fans were tweeting about the baller potentially (somehow?) ending up back in Dallas in an expanded Kyrie trade or getting shipped off to some other team. Others, meanwhile, thought he might be referring to an invitation to take Irving’s spot as an Eastern Conference All-Star.

There was also the possibility he was reacting to something involving someone other than himself — an RJ Barrett trade perhaps?

Ultimately, the truth was far less earth-shattering than many among the two-ish million people that have seen his tweet as of this writing were thinking it might be.

Knicks Star Jalen Brunson Gets Scared, Quickly Abandons Ship on Epic Troll Job

Before the hubbub surrounding his tweet got too crazy, Brunson — who’s in Orlando as his team gets set to face the Magic on Tuesday night — sounded off for second time with the following declaration:

“Totally forgot that there’s a @Wawa in Orlando! That’s fire.”

Thus ended what was very nearly one of the better troll jobs we have seen from an NBA player in recent memory. Indeed, the Knicks floor general bypassed a golden opportunity to really get the tinfoil hat crowd all hot and bothered; one fan even chastised Brunson for abandoning ship just one minute after his initial tweet.

In response, Brunson confessed that he “got scared” (which, more than anything, probably just means he’s not a horrible person).

As long as he maintains his current level — he’s averaging 23.1 points, 6.2 assists and 3.5 rebounds per contest and shooting over 40% from deep — and the Knicks remain above .500, fans are probably OK with a half-hearted trolling here and there. At the least, the Big Apple faithful have got to be happy that this is the most controversial thing happening with their point guard.

Deuce McBride on the Knicks’ Big Comeback

To say that the Knicks looked to be dead in the water during the early stages of their win over the Philadelphia 76ers would be an understatement. Joel Embiid and Co. had somehow amassed a 21-point lead before the first quarter was even over.

And while several players contributed to the big turnaround, second-year guard Miles McBride’s efforts warrant special mention. In 23 minutes of play — his highest workload since New Year’s Eve — McBride dropped 14 points, three boards and two assists while notching a team-best 34 points on the positive side of the plus/minus ledger.

After the game, though, the 22-year-old was decidedly low-key in taking stock of the comeback and his contributions to it.

“Really, just not looking at the scoreboard and just taking it play by play. Just chip away at it one play at a time,” McBride said, via the New York Post. “We know who our main guys are. So I think whatever I can do to help us win is the main thing. If that’s making shots, OK, that’s great, but also being a defensive player and coming in and maybe getting an assist and affecting the game in a positive way.

“Obviously, some guys have been out, been down, and somebody needed to step up. I felt like it would be a great opportunity for me to come in and show what I have.”