Jalen Brunson’s payday was one of the biggest stories of the NBA offseason. Not to disrespect him, but watching him snatch such a massive contract was a bit of a shocker, even if it came from the New York Knicks.
Brunson and the Knicks had close ties, and they were quite aggressive in their recruitment, up to the point where they even attended Mavericks’ playoffgames. That didn’t sit well with some people in the league, but it was all fair and square.
Whatever the case, Brunson’s contract continues to be a subject of controversy around basketball circles. That’s why his former coach Jason Kidd wanted to share his thoughts on the matter.
NBA News: Jason Kidd Says He’s Happy For Jalen Brunson
“The biggest thing is I’m happy he got paid,’’ Kidd said onAll the Smoke. “He helped us. I know [Mavericks owner Mark] Cuban doesn’t like this, but I love when I can get a player get paid.’’
“I tell a player on the first day of camp, ‘Tell me what you want,’” the former champion added. “Everyone wants shots. Everyone wants minutes. But that’s not the truth. They want to get paid and want to play.
“Cool. I can help you do that. The other part of that is I’m going to ask for a couple of things. Trust, communicate and play hard. If you ask Brunson, he will tell you he listened [to me] and good things happened. I just want to put people in position to be successful,”Kidd continued.
“There’s 30 companies in the NBA.We all can’t stay in the same company. For him to go to New York to get paid and an opportunity to run his own team. I’m happy for him,” the coach concluded.
At the end of the day, Brunson will have to prove why he’s getting all that money. The Knicks have been craving a starting-caliber point guard for years now, so maybe he’s just what they’ve been looking for.