Report: Jalen Brunson would be open to extension with Knicks this summer

As stated by Steve Popper of Newsday, New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson is open to the idea of inking a contract extension with the team in the summer.

Brunson is enjoying a career year in the 2023-24 regular season, his second season with the Knicks. He is averaging career-highs in points (27.8), assists (6.6) and 3-pointers made (2.7) per contest.

The guard is scoring the fourth-most points per game of any player in the league, behind only a few MVP candidates in Luka Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

On top of putting up some of the best numbers of any player at his position in the NBA this season, the 27-year-old has participated in all but five of the Knicks’ 75 regular-season contests so far.

But Brunson had an uncharacteristic performance in terms of efficiency in the Knicks’ loss to the Miami Heat on April 2. He finished with 20 points and 10 assists but shot just 5-of-18 from the floor and committed five turnovers.

After falling to the Heat, the Knicks — who recently found out that one of their top players in Julius Randle will be sidelined for the rest of the season with a shoulder injury — are now losers of their last three games.

Prior to their current three-game losing streak, the Knicks were on a stretch where they won seven games over an eight-game span.

Brunson and the Knicks still have a lot play for in the final stretch of the 2023-24 regular season. New York is just one game back of the Cleveland Cavaliers for the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference.

But while the Knicks could leapfrog teams in the Eastern Conference playoff picture, they could potentially drop in the standings between now and the end of the regular season as well if their losing streak persists. The Indiana Pacers — who are the conference’s No. 7 seed — are just two games back of New York.

Regardless of where the Knicks finish in the standings or the team’s level of success in the playoffs, it seemingly would be in New York’s best interest to sign Brunson to a long-term deal.