Why Carmelo Anthony wouldn’t have accepted Jalen Brunson’s paycut with Knicks

Carmelo Anthony had an intriguing take regarding Jalen Brunson’s decision to take a discount on his current contract for the New York Knicks.

Brunson completed the eighth season of his NBA career, his fourth with the Knicks. He led the franchise to the mountaintop after beating the San Antonio Spurs in five games throughout the 2026 NBA Finals.

Brunson pulled this off by taking a reduced salary on his contract, allowing New York to surround him with the best talents possible. Anthony, who represented the squad as their leading star from 2011 to 2017, appeared on the Podcast P show with Paul George and discussed multiple topics. One of them involved Brunson, explaining why he would’ve taken the opposite stance on the contract discount.

“I’m not doing it. Listen, you can’t make $113 million off the court. Peoples are busting their ass out there, and they’re making $113 million off the court. And I’m talking about people who’ve been off the court for years and years, who are the biggest stars out there, they not making $100 million off the court,” Anthony said.

“That right there is different. He’s making something. He should be making something. $113 million, to make that up on the back end is crazy. I don’t know the logic and the thinking behind why he did it.”

Carmelo Anthony says he would not have left $113,000,000 on the table like Jalen Brunson because you can’t make that back through off court earnings

“I’m not doing it. Listen, you can’t make $113 million off the court. Peoples are busting their ass out there, and they’re making… pic.twitter.com/V8Hv9mXCZ5

— dank (@cptdankkk) August 1, 2026

What lies ahead for Jalen Brunson, Knicks

Carmelo Anthony may be right about players needing to maximize future earnings. However, it is clear that Jalen Brunson’s next contract will certainly be huge following his championship success with the Knicks.

New York finished with a 53-29 record on the season, securing the third seed in the East standings. They went 16-3 in the playoffs, rolling off 13 straight wins to get to their first NBA Finals since 1999. After beating the Spurs, they end a 53-year drought as they earn their third-ever title.

The Knicks go through the offseason with plenty of security. They retain their star core but addressed some holes in the second unit through the draft and free agency. They now prepare their title defense for the 2026-27 campaign.

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