Jalen Brunsonās 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 Mavericksā playoffgames. That didnāt sit well with some people in the league, but it was all fair and square.
Whatever the case, Brunsonās contract continues to be a subject of controversy around basketball circles. Thatās why his former coach Jason Kidd wanted to share his thoughts on the matter.
NBA News: Jason Kidd Says Heās Happy For Jalen Brunson
āThe biggest thing is Iām happy he got paid,āā Kidd said onAll the Smoke. āHe helped us. I know [Mavericks owner Mark] Cuban doesnāt like this, but I love when I can get a player get paid.āā
āI tell a player on the first day of camp, āTell me what you want,āā the former champion added. āEveryone wants shots. Everyone wants minutes. But thatās not the truth. They want to get paid and want to play.
āCool. I can help you do that. The other part of that is Iām 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,āKidd continued.
āThereās 30 companies in the NBA.We all canāt stay in the same company. For him to go to New York to get paid and an opportunity to run his own team. Iām happy for him,ā the coach concluded.
At the end of the day, Brunson will have to prove why heās getting all that money. The Knicks have been craving a starting-caliber point guard for years now, so maybe heās just what theyāve been looking for.
