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Breaking down Knicks' key contract decisions looming this offseason, including OG Anunoby and Jalen Brunson

ian begley
·6 min read
3

After losing in the second round of the playoffs for the second consecutive year, the offseason for the Knicks is here.

With the help of Yossi Gozlan, we’ll take a look at some of the decisions ahead for New York and the financial implications of those decisions...

OG ANUNOBY

Anunoby can sign a contract extension worth $117 million over four years on June 30 – the six-month anniversary of his trade to the Knicks. He has a player option for 2024-25. He needs to decide on that player option by June 24 and can only extend if he exercises the player option for next season.

You can probably take that option off the board for the Knicks as Anunoby is highly unlikely to pick up his option for next season.

He will likely decline that player option and become a free agent. The Knicks can ink Anunoby to a max deal of five years and $245 million, as Gozlan explains in his excellent breakdown here.

Gozlan uses recent deals for wings (Jerami Grant, Jayden McDaniels) as a reference for Anunoby’s next deal. He expects Anunoby’s deal to set the market for wings. I think it’s reasonable to expect Anunoby to get $35 million annually on his next contract.

If that number is eye-popping to you, remember that the NBA’s next TV rights deal will steadily increase the salary cap. "Because of a new television contract that begins in 2025-26, teams expect to see the cap increase annually by 10 percent," ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes in his excellent Knicks breakdown here.

As previously reported, members of the Philadelphia 76ers have seen Anunoby as an offseason target. Paul George is also a target for Philadelphia. But if the Sixers can’t get George, I could see them making a big offer to Anunoby – if for no other reason than it would force New York to match the money.

ISAIAH HARTENSTEIN

The Knicks have Hartenstein’s Early Bird rights. This allows them to exceed the salary cap to re-sign him. But it also restricts their offer to a specific amount. In this case, the Knicks can offer Hartenstein a four-year, $72.5 million contract.

Will Hartenstein get a larger offer elsewhere? The 76ers, Orlando Magic, Detroit Pistons, Oklahoma City Thunder, Toronto Raptors and Charlotte Hornets project to have sizable cap space this summer.

It’s worth noting that Orlando had significant interest in Hartenstein the last time he was a free agent. The Knicks obviously won the bid for Hartenstein that summer, but Orlando was aggressive. I don’t know if the Magic will prioritize the center position in free agency.

Hartenstein is among a small group of free agent centers this summer (Jonas Valančiūnas, Nic Claxton). Bringing Hartenstein back has been a priority for the Knicks. His re-signing was a factor included in their approach to extension negotiations with Immanuel Quickley. So, I would assume the Knicks and Hartenstein agree on a deal. New York can begin talking to Hartenstein after the NBA Finals.

Gozlan projects that signing Anunoby and Hartenstein will put New York in the luxury tax, potentially above the first apron.

This projection operates on the assumption that the Knicks do not bring back Precious Achiuwa and Alec Burks. Re-signing those players could put the Knicks near or above the restrictive second apron (Gozlan breaks down those restrictions in his video here.)

JALEN BRUNSON EXTENSION

Brunson is under contract through 2024-25. He has a player option for 2025-26.

If he declines the player option in 2025-26, he can sign a maximum contract of $270 million over five years. The contract would run through 2029-30.

Brunson is also eligible for an extension this summer starting July 13, per Marks. The extension can be for as long as four years and as much as $156 million. It would take Brunson through the 2028-29 season. But from an agent perspective, it wouldn’t make sense to extend without flexibility in the form of a player option in the deal.

With that being said, Newsday reported that Brunson would be willing to sign an extension with the Knicks. If he did so, he’d be giving the Knicks incredible financial flexibility in future offseasons. Also, if he signed an extension it would align with how Brunson has done business with the Knicks to date.

He agreed to a descending contract in free agency in the summer of 2022, which gave the Knicks more financial flexibility over the life of the deal. It would also give them more flexibility to add players on Brunson’s next contract. His potential extension starts at a lower amount because his contract is descending.

So there’s reason to believe that Brunson would at least be open to considering an extension. He’s already signed a contract that put the Knicks in a better position to improve the roster.

If he were to sign an extension, it would just be another example of Brunson giving the Knicks the best chance to add talent to their roster.

JULIUS RANDLE

Randle is eligible for an extension this summer. It can be as long as four years and for as much as $181.5 million. He becomes eligible on Aug. 3. If history is any indication, he would be open to signing this summer. Remember, Randle decided to sign an extension with the Knicks after the best season of his career rather than wait one more year for free agency.

Will the Knicks extend Randle?

I assume they would want to extend him if he is on the roster. As Gozlan notes, Randle’s contract is the one that would likely be used to facilitate a trade for a star. The Knicks also can use up to eight first-round picks in a deal (and seven second-rounders).

So if they pursued a top player via trade, Randle would probably be at the center of those trade conversations. Should they? That’s a matter of opinion. I thought NBA champion Kevin Garnett shared an interesting perspective on the Knicks and Randle in his interview with ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith.

If you’re talking about trades, it’s also worth noting that Bojan Bogdanovic’s 2024-25 salary is $19 million. It is currently guaranteed for $2 million. The Knicks have the option to waive Bogdanovic without further financial penalty by June 26. If they keep him on the roster past June 26, his contract becomes fully guaranteed.

He obviously can help the Knicks with scoring off the bench next season, so the idea that they would keep him on the roster past June 26 is not far-fetched. But Bogdanovic’s deal would also be valuable in any trade conversations.