New & Old New Yorkers; Knicks Brunson, Hartenstein, Robinson Signings Official
With the smoke and turnover from several trades and untold millions of cap space cleared, Jalen Brunson, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Mitchell Robinson emerged wearing Knicks jerseys.
The Knicks confirmed the signings of their early summer trio on Tuesday evening, with Robinson coming back for his fifth season in blue and orange. Brunson, set to work on a four-year, $104 million deal, comes over from the Dallas Mavericks while Hartenstein spent last season with the Los Angeles Clippers.
"We are beyond thrilled to add Jalen Brunson to our organization," Knicks president Leon Rose said in a statement. "He's a competitor, a leader, a playmaker, and most importantly a winner. His addition is a perfect complement to the team we are building and the culture we are establishing."
Brunson, who averaged career-bests in nearly every major statistical category, during the Mavericks' run to the Eastern Conference Finals, will wear No. 11 with the Knicks. Those digits were previously worn by Bob McAdoo, Rod Strickland, Derek Harper, Jamal Crawford, and Frank Ntilikina. He returns to the tri-state metropolitan area with his father and newly minted Knicks assistant coach Rick, having been born in New Brunswick, NJ and winning a pair of Big East Men's Basketball Tournament titles with the Villanova Wildcats.
Hartenstein joins up with New York after a breakout season out west, averaging 8.3 points and 4.9 rebounds in a primary reserve role. He's described by Rose as "a versatile big man who impacts the game at both ends of the floor. The center will retain the No. 55 he wore in Los Angeles, following in the tradition of Louis Orr, Kiki Vandeweghe, and Quentin Richardson.
He'll be joined in the interior by Robinson, whom Rose was proud to label "someone our organization has seen grow tremendously both on and off the court over the last four seasons". Robinson missed most of the Knicks' brief playoff run in 2020-21 due to an injury but returned to form to the tune of 8.5 points and 8.6 rebounds.
The confirmation of these signings coincided with the release of reports of Donovan Mitchell's status in Utah up for discussion. Time will tell if the Knicks are able to work things out based on their current cap situation but the team has not hesitated to aggressively clear space in pursuit of new faces ... a quest perfectly personified by their trio mixing newcomers and returnees alike.
