NBA

Jalen Brunson reportedly ‘open’ to contract extension talks this summer in New York

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The player that has led the Knicks back to historic heights this season is Jalen Brunson, and good news is starting to spread around claiming he’s willing to extend his stay in New York for years to come. According to several reports, the All-Star would be “open” to negotiating a potential contract extension with the club once this campaign has come to an end.ย 

One of the first to the scene was insider Steve Popper of Newsday, who shined a light on these rumors during a Thursday appearance onย The Putback with Ian Begley. “I’ve heard whispers that Jalen Brunson would be open to discussions to do [an extension] this summer,” he said on air.

The point guard still has two more seasons left on his four-year deal worth $104 million, which also includes a $24.96 million player option for the 2025/26 campaign. However, the Manhattan franchise would like to secure their star athlete for years to come, as he’s only exceeded expectations since he landed there, averaging 25.9 points in his Knicks career.

The player, who just made his first All-Star appearance last February, is enjoying a scoring average of 27.8 points per contest, ranking 4th among all players in the NBA this year. Jalen recently played his 66th match of the campaign, and has cleared the minimum to be taken into consideration for end-of-the-year acknowledgments.

When asked about winning accolades, he gave a straight answer. โ€œDefinitely, when youโ€™re available you should be able to play. Itโ€™s always been my mindset. I havenโ€™t really thought any other way,โ€ he revealed last week.

โ€œObviously weโ€™ve been banged up a lot so our availability has been limited. I think most guys on this team, if not all, have the mindset that if theyโ€™re good to go, theyโ€™re going to go as hard as they can and play,โ€ he said about the Knicksโ€™ attitude, as theyโ€™ve suffered many injuries this competition.

When asked if heโ€™s been working hard to earn his first All-NBA consideration, Jalen was rather shy about his objectives. โ€œMy list of goals is private. Iโ€™ll cross that bridge when I get to it,โ€ said Brunson, who is also 14th in assists with 6.4 per game.

The first-time All-Star guard has been averaging career highs in points, assists, and minutes per contest

โ€œHeโ€™s special,โ€ teammate Donte DiVincenzo said about Jalen. โ€œI think heโ€™s an All-NBA talent. Even if we didnโ€™t come away with the win tonight, I think what he did tonight showed you that heโ€™s one of the best guards in the East. Every single night, whatever it takes to win, he does that. Tonight, it was almost.โ€

Jalen Brunson recently dropped a career-high 61 points in the Knicksโ€™ 130-126 overtime loss to the San Antonio Spurs last Friday night, and his total fell one point shy of matching Carmelo Anthonyโ€™s franchise record of 62 points on January 24, 2014.

โ€œWe give them confidence and they were just rolling from the beginning,โ€ Brunson shared. โ€œI think we played well the rest of the game. We fought. They went on runs; we went on runs. We just kept on fighting, but at the beginning of the game just didnโ€™t do good.โ€

Not too long ago, the 27-year-old also joined Kobe Bryant as the only NBA athletes in NBA history to record at least 20 two-pointers and 5 three-pointers in a single match.