Spurs Jumping on Knicks’ Genius Trend Is Bad News for NY

The NBA is a copycat league. After the Bulls' domination in the 90s, other teams tried to run more of the triangle offense. After the Celtics put together a trio of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen, the league shifted its roster constructing focus on creating a big three.

The Knicks had the makings of setting a new trend after Jalen Brunson took a significant pay cut to re-sign two seasons ago. This allowed New York to make big (Karl-Anthony Trades, Mikal Bridges trades) and small moves (re-signing four players this offseason) alike with extra flexibility.

But this summer has seen stars chase dollars over better odds at winning, with Donovan Mitchell taking a max when the Cavaliers could use help in other areas. However, the Spurs are now following in the Knicks' footsteps after these teams crossed paths in the Finals.

How Jalen Brunson May Have Changed the NBA's Salary Landscape

With the Spurs signing Victor Wembanyama to a five-year, $252 million rookie-scale contract extension—that has just a 25% maximum instead of a 30% supermax escalator—many have compared it to Brunson's deal.

Like Brunson's contract, it's still an enormous amount of money. But the deal could save the Spurs roughly $50 million over the next five years.

It's hard to definitively say that Wembanyama was influenced by Brunson. And getting players, especially your best ones, to take less money is always the goal of any franchise.

Yet Wembanyama saw first hand just how good the Knicks were right before agreeing to this deal. While Brunson was spectacular for much of the Finals, the Spurs big man had to have noticed just how well the team around him was constructed.

Karl-Anthony Tows and OG Anunoby both had an argument to be the Finals MVP until the decisive game 5, while Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, Jose Alvarado and the rest of the bench all had their moments as well.

Players who saw the Knicks dominate their way through the entire postseason not with a traditional super team, but instead balance and depth, may be seeing that this is the new path to winning it all. Jay Williams of ESPN revealed that he had spoken to a few players who were eligible for the supermax, and that they were feeling some pressure from their teams, citing Brunson's sacrifice.

The Wemby deal is especially of note. It was finalized between one of the smartest and most respected front offices in the league, and the next face of the league. This may be confirmation that not only is it helpful for your best player to leave some money on the table, but necessary with how the current CBA is constructed.

Wembayama, like Brunson, does benefit from this contract, so it isn't all negatives for him. Like Brunson's deal, this is still a lot of money. Like Brunson's deal, it gives him some more security in the near future.

But San Antonio comes out as the clear victors like New York did. The Spurs, akin to the Knicks, will have much more financial flexibility to retain talent and surround Wembanyama with the requite roster needed to win a championship.

Don't be surprised if this is move ends up leading to worthwhile additions around Wemby that help extend the current title window he's in. That, of course, only hurts New York while it tries to win with Brunson and KAT still in their primes.

Add us as a preferred source on Google