Can New York Knicks make playoffs with new signing Jalen Brunson?

In one of the NBA’s worst kept secrets, Jalen Brunson has officially signed with the New York Knicks at the opening of the 2022 free agency period. It will be a 4 year $104 million contract to be the Knicks’ newest starting point guard. The reason this deal was not surprising to anyone was because the Knicks were very vocal in their desire to sign Brunson and his father works with the Knicks as an assistant coach.

Regardless, Brunson is expected to be a key player for the Knicks. He was overshadowed by Luka Doncic in Dallas but still had a respectable stat line of 16.3 points per game, 3.9 rebounds per game and 4.8 assist per game. In the NBA playoffs, however, he elevated his play and averaged 21.6 points per game. He was one of the reasons why Dallas made the Western Conference Finals before losing to the eventual champions in the Golden State Warriors.

The Mavericks will now look for a new point guard to play alongside Luka Doncic. Brunson was an important player for the Mavericks and his absence will hurt them. That being said, there should be no shortage of players who want to play with one of the game’s brightest young stars, Luka Doncic. Even so, the Mavs will be looking to re-tool yet again as they hope to build on their surprising playoff run last season.

The Mavericks are now +1200 to win the Western Conference with the online betting sites and while that’s a pretty fine number, we wouldn’t recommend betting on them at this time. Without Brunson, they have a big hole on their roster and they will need to replace him with another playmaker if they want to make another playoff run. The Mavericks are a young team with a superstar in Luka Doncic and a couple of good role players, but they need another star to really put up a title challenge.

The Knicks now add a young point guard to a team without a lot of young talent. Brunson and R.J. Barrett will be the key players on this team going forward and whether that makes them a playoff team remains to be seen. For this year, the Knicks are +5000 to win the Eastern Conference and they simply are not good enough to make it that far.

The Knicks have not won a playoff series in nine years and they are frequently the doormat of the league. Now, they will at least have a competitive team and Brunson is one of the most respected young players in the league. While that respect may not translate into playoff runs, it will at least make the Knicks competitive. All Knicks fans want is to not be the joke of the NBA. At this point in the free agency period, they are taking the right steps to appease their fans.
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