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Evan & Tiki

Brunson’s “Do Right By Me” Warning: Is a $400M Knicks Showdown Coming?

Evan & Tiki

Audacy

Sports

4.2988 Ratings

🗓️ 18 February 2026

⏱️ 13 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Jalen Brunson opened up in a revealing Vanity Fair interview and a few comments have Knicks fans buzzing for very different reasons. From the oddly specific details about his off-court life to a brutally honest assessment of the team’s current shortcomings, Brunson did not sugarcoat where things stand. But the real headline is financial. Brunson acknowledged the massive discount he took to help the Knicks build a contender and hinted that he expects to be repaid in the future. By 2028, he could be eligible for a five-year deal worth well over $400 million, a staggering number for a 32-year-old point guard. Is this simply the cost of doing business in today’s NBA, or a ticking time bomb for the franchise? Would the Knicks actually commit that kind of money long term? And if they hesitate, could another team swoop in and change the entire landscape of New York basketball? This episode breaks down Brunson’s candid comments, the reality of the NBA salary structure, the risk of paying aging stars, and what it all means for the Knicks’ championship window.

Transcript

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0:00.0

Frosty, spicy chicken sandwich, or junior bacon cheeseburger? And as of right now, it's very early on the voting. It's a two-man race between Frosty and Junior Bacon Cheeseburger, the spicy chicken is taking a beating. Yes. And that's probably what I would get. Me too. But I guess people just don't think of Wendy's when they think of that. Anyhow, we'll get your calls in a minute.

0:21.7

Jalen Brunson did an interview with Vanity Fair and I did the legwork for everybody.

0:26.5

Instead of you having to read that entire article, I read it.

0:29.9

And I'll tell you there were three things that jumped out of me.

0:32.8

Number one, they revealed the restaurant that him and his wife liked to go to and when they liked to go. And I thought that was odd. Because I can see Nick fans being like, oh, and I'm not even going to repeat it, though, I guess I could because it was in Vanity Fair. Yeah, it's in the city? It's in Westchester. Oh, in Westchester. He lives in my neck of the woods. Right, right. Is it a good restaurant? I honestly never heard of it.

1:12.5

So now you're going to go. I think I may go. And that's not to see Jalen Brunson because I don't care about Jalen Brunson. It's that, hey, if Jalen goes there, must be good. Right. So that jumped out at me. The other thing was this quote. All right. Brunson speaks carefully as if weighing how candid to be. He mentions

1:14.7

the Knicks uneven road record and

1:16.6

laments a lack of sharpness on the margins.

1:19.4

Then he pauses,

1:20.7

collects his thoughts, and offers

1:22.5

what feels like a sobering assessment

1:24.6

of that team. Quote,

1:26.4

we're very gifted.

1:28.2

We're very talented.

1:29.5

But we need the little things that help us be better, the intangibles.

1:33.9

We got to that point last year where we had it.

1:36.6

We don't have that right now.

1:39.0

That's interesting.

1:40.5

It's kind of a lot of respect, Jaylen Brez.

1:42.0

He's just telling you like it is.

1:43.2

He's keeping it real. And part of that might be, first of respect, Jaylen, Brezzi. He's just telling you like it is. He's keeping it real.

1:45.0

And part of that might be, first of all, the new way in which they play, but also the new players that are integrated into everyday Nick's basketball.

...

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