Getty Jalen Brunson could be getting the Knicks in trouble.
The New York Knicks were given another update on the ongoing Jalen Brunson investigation that was opened up after the team reaching an agreement with the former Dallas Mavericks guard.
News of the signing came out before free agency even began, and the writing was on the wall that an investigation would be coming. Sure enough, the NBA announced they’ll be looking into whether there was tampering, and the same thing was said for the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Sixers investigation has already wrapped up, and the team had two future second round draft picks taken away from them.
“The rescindment of two Draft picks reflected findings, following an investigation, that the 76ers engaged in free agency discussions involving two players (P.J. Tucker and Danuel House, Jr.) prior to the date when such discussions were permitted.”
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski says the league is still investigating the Knicks over the Brunson signing.
Knicks Investigation is Ongoing
The NBA’s investigation into early contact on the Knicks’ signing of free agent Jalen Brunson remains ongoing, per sources.
Instead of reaching a decision at the same time as the Sixers investigation, the Knicks are still under the microscope.
“The NBA’s investigation into early contact on the Knicks’ signing of free agent Jalen Brunson remains ongoing, per sources,” wrote Wojnarowski.
It’s hard to envision a world where the Knicks don’t end up being hit with a penalty because of the timing of the signing. It’s clear New York made contract with Brunson before signing him, so the question that’s left is what will the punishment look like?
If it’s like the Sixers, then it’ll likely result in the loss of a second round draft pick or two, and that’s a blow the Knicks could take. They have a strong stable of first rounders ahead of them, and the Brunson signing has looked like a relative bargain through the first six games of the year.
Brunson is Working Out
While the Knicks are sitting at 3-3 on the season, right along with expectations, but Brunson has proved to be a big update.
He’s averaging career highs across the board, albeit with a very small sample size, but he’s showing the impact he can have. He’s coming off a dominant performance in the playoffs for the Mavericks, so this type of play was expected from the Knicks.
While he could mean the Knicks lose future draft picks, it’s looking like that signing is worth it more and more each day. He’s on a four-year deal, so he’s going to be spending a lot of time wearing a Knicks jersey, and fans are going to be hoping he can take the team back to the playoffs.
So far, he’s shown glimpses of that being possible. Julius Randle looks much better playing alongside him, and if that continues throughout the season, we might even be seeing a return to the All-Star team for him.
RJ Barrett has started off the season in a shooting slump, but there’s no reason to expect him to stay in that. If this trio can get things together, it seems like a foregone conclusion that they’ll be better than at least five other teams in the loaded Eastern Conference. That would mean they compete in the play-in tournament, likely a goal of team this year.