Knicks Linked to Point Guard Seeking $80 Million Deal

The New York Knicks are still looking for a point guard that can steer the team into the right direction.

Last season, the Knicks managed to make the playoffs, as a 4th seed no less, with Elfrid Payton manning the position. After moving on from him, they signed Kemba Walker, somebody who looked to be a major upgrade on paper.

That didn’t pan out either and now the team is playing Alec Burks out of position at point guard, an experiment that has been a mixed bag. After the trade deadline came and went without a trade, the Knicks now have to wait until the offseason to make a move.

SNY’s David Vertsberger came up with a list of options for the Knicks to consider, and Jalen Brunson is called the “biggest target” of them all. He’s the most likely option for New York as it’s hard to imagine Russell Westbrook or Kyrie Irving suiting up for the Knicks next season.

---

Brunson to New York

What’s interesting about Brunson is the fact he’s coming off a minimum contract, so the max the Mavericks can offer him is four years, $55.6 million. If he was to hit free agency and sign a deal elsewhere, he can earn closer to $80 million. He is a restricted free agent, so the Mavs could match a deal, but Vertsberger doesn’t sound convinced they’ll do that.

“Every method of obtaining him has been reported, and there’s no reason to think the Knicks won’t throw a gigantic sum of money at him given the opportunity,” he wrote. “One way to pry him from the Dallas Mavericks is by offering such a large bag they can’t match it, which feels like a probable course this offseason.”

The Mavericks did acquire Spencer Dinwiddie before the deadline, so they do have a replacement for Brunson if he did decide to walk. So far, Dinwiddie has fit right in with in Dallas, and that could be what leads Brunson to become expendable.

---

Knicks Have a Good Shot

Tying up long-term money into Luka Doncic, Brunson and Dinwiddie, all point guards and playmakers, seems like a recipe for disaster for the success of the Mavs, so they might have to let Brunson walk.

If that does happen, he’ll have a lot of suitors who are all looking for a point guard. This has been a position of need for the Knicks for years now, but there are still a lot of teams who could use an upgrade at the spot too.

No matter what direction the team goes, it’s hard to imagine any option being worse than having to play Burks. While Brunson might be considered to be priority number one, there are other names to consider like John Wall.

Wall hasn’t played in a single game this season with the Houston Rockets, and if he’s healthy, he has the chance of being one of the better point guards in the league. It’s a big leap to make, but nobody know what a healthy and energized John Wall can look like these days.

READ NEXT: ‘He’s Not Afraid of Big Moments’: All-Star, Coach Praise Rising Guard

0 Comments