Knicks finish off deal with Pistons, clearing room for key additions
Dallas Mavericks' Jalen Brunson during Game 5 of the NBA basketball playoffs Western Conference finals against Golden State in San Francisco, Thursday, May 26, 2022. Credit: AP/Jeff Chiu
LAS VEGAS — Knicks executives are gathered here to watch their NBA Summer League roster in action, but they also have been moving to finish off the summer work on their roster.
The team announced the completion of the salary cap- clearing deal with Detroit, clearing the way for the signings of Jalen Brunson, Isaiah Hartenstein and Mitchell Robinson, moves that could be announced as soon as Tuesday.
Brunson is the prize of their summer shopping. He gives the Knicks a floor leader who is universally regarded as not just a solid and improving player but a leader in the locker room and on the court.
“They’re getting somebody who creates his own shot,” Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said. “Amazing midrange game. Ninth in the league in taking charges. Great guy. Great in the locker room. Great in the community. Supported the organization. A good kid.”
Brunson’s father, Rick, is an assistant for the Knicks’ Summer League team after officially joining Tom Thibodeau’s staff last month, reprising a role he served with Thibodeau with the Bulls and Timberwolves.
The elder Brunson once played for the Knicks, but his son has exceeded his level, averaging 16.3 points for Dallas last season and shining in the postseason.
Cuban had little doubt that Brunson is up to the task of moving out of the shadow of Luka Doncic and into the spotlight at Madison Square Garden.
“Yeah, Thibs is a good coach,” Cuban said. “He’ll use him the way he needs, a different style of play.”
While the Knicks still have roster spots to fill on the fringes and will have face-to-face meetings in Las Vegas with executives from other teams to discuss trades, this is the team for now. They have Brunson at point guard, joining Julius Randle, RJ Barrett, Robinson and either Evan Fournier or Quentin Grimes in the starting lineup.
The Knicks did not execute a sign-and-trade deal and instead signed Brunson to a four-year, $104 million contract. With Hartenstein’s two-year, $16.7 million deal and the return of Robinson on a four-year, $60 million deal, the Knicks have wiped out their salary-cap space.
They currently have 13 players under contract — Brunson, Robinson, Hartenstein, Randle, Barrett, Fournier, Grimes, Obi Toppin, Jericho Sims, Cam Reddish, Derrick Rose, Immanuel Quickley and Miles McBride.
Feron Hunt and Trevor Keels are on two-way contracts, so the Knicks have two roster spots open. They should have a $5.4 million salary-cap exception and veteran minimums available to fill out the roster.
The deal with Detroit followed the move on draft night that sent Kemba Walker and Jalen Duren to the Pistons (Duren was acquired from Charlotte when the Hornets selected him at No. 13 for a 2023 protected first-round pick that the Knicks owned from Denver and four second-round picks).
This deal sent Alec Burks, Nerlens Noel and two draft picks — the Pistons’ own 2023 second-round pick that the Knicks had, as well as a 2026 second-round pick (either Minnesota’s or the Knicks’) and $6 million to Detroit.
The Knicks cleared out $18 million in cap space with the deal and also received a protected 2025 second-round pick and the draft rights to Nikola Radicevic, a 28-year-old point guard who was drafted by Denver in 2015 and played in the Summer League with the Nuggets in 2017. He currently plays for Bilboa in Spain.
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
