Beijing time, February 22nd, today is the last day of the All-Star Weekend. There are no games in the league yet. During this period, we can talk about the performance of some teams in the past period. The Knicks’ recent performance is not good. They After trading for Anunoby, they once had a 9-game winning streak, but due to injuries to Randle and Anunoby, they recently suffered a 4-game losing streak.
However, the Knicks acquired Bojan and Burks at the trade deadline, and the team's lineup thickness has been improved. Under such circumstances, the Knicks also have their four cores: Randle, Brunson, Bo Although Young and Anunoby are not very famous as four-core players, their abilities are very good and they are practical players. Last season, the Knicks scored three goals with only Randall and Brunson. Second round of playoffs.
After acquiring Anunoby this season, the Knicks were once considered capable of reaching the Eastern Conference finals, because they did show a good chemical reaction. Although they did not have the top star, they With the best chemical reaction and defense, now with the arrival of Bojan, and after Randall and Anunoby return, the Knicks will definitely be a player that cannot be underestimated in the Eastern Conference.
Even though they have suffered a 4-game losing streak recently, the Knicks are still ranked fourth in the Eastern Conference. The Knicks have been able to go from being a team that barely made it to the playoffs to becoming a top-four team in the Eastern Conference, mainly because Brunson's existence, he joined the Knicks in the 2022 offseason with a four-year, 104 million contract, and this contract is a contract that decreases every year. It can be said that the Knicks made a lot of money from this signing.
After Brunson joined the Knicks, he was no longer restricted by Doncic and became the core ball-handler. After having absolute ball rights, he also proved how good his offensive ability is. This season Brunson Sen averaged 27.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 0.9 steals per game, shooting 48% from the field and 41% from the three-point range. His offensive efficiency can be said to be very good, and his annual salary this season is only 27.73 million.
You must know that players in the league who can average 27+6 per game now basically have contracts of around 40 million. Leon Rose can say that this signing is too profitable. Brunson is now one of the best singles players in the league. First, although he is not fast, he is very rhythmic, and has both the ability with and without the ball. He is very good at using the pick and roll to launch attacks. His overall view is also very good, allowing the Knicks to have their axis.
Speaking of Brunson, we have to mention the Mavericks. The Mavericks had the opportunity to renew Brunson's contract, but they gave up. They even said that they were unwilling to give a contract like the Knicks, and the Mavericks There were opportunities to renew Brunson at a cheaper price, but they gave up, and they gave up twice. This may be Cuban's second wrong decision in his career besides giving up Nash.
Brunson recently talked about him and the Mavericks in an interview. He said: "Before the start of the last season of the contract, I asked the Mavericks for 55 million in four years, but they rejected it twice." At the end of the third year of his career, Brunson averaged 12.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game. At that time, he was already the first core player on the team's bench. Although he did not show his current potential, he was worth the price. , but Cuban gave up. After
, in the fourth year of his career, with the arrival of Kidd, he let Brunson join Doncic in the starting lineup and became the team's second ball-handling point, similar to Irving's current role. He stood up when he was extremely tired, but Brunson relied on his stable performance to help the Mavericks reach the conference finals. If the Warriors weren't so strong back then, maybe the Mavericks would have made it out of the conference.
Brunson had already proven how good he was at that time, but Cuban still didn’t trust him, which ultimately led to Brunson leaving the team. Looking at Brunson’s performance now, it is estimated that the entire Mavericks management will regret the original decision. , although they won Irving, in terms of Irving's ability, he may not be better than the current Brunson. Even in terms of team leadership ability, Brunson is obviously better.
Irving has never led a team to achieve good results as the boss for so many years in his career. When he led the Cavaliers as the boss, the team was always weak. Irving came to the Mavericks on the trade deadline last season. As a result, they did not even enter the play-offs last season. During the offseason, the Mavericks renewed Irving with a three-year, 120 million contract. Although the Mavericks played well this season Good competitiveness, but if they use 120 million, they may renew Brunson's contract for at least 4 years.
It's too late to say anything now. If the Mavericks want to keep Doncic for a long time in the future, they need to make more efforts. Having said that, what do you want to say about the current Mavericks and Brunson? Welcome to leave a message for discussion.
