New York Knicks captain Jalen Brunson has expressed confidence that his teammates will remain professional despite the franchise’s decision to suspend contract extension negotiations.
The Knicks announced Friday that they would delay discussions until later in the season as they attempt to manage their payroll and avoid the NBA’s second luxury-tax apron.
The decision affects several players, including Josh Hart, Karl-Anthony Towns and Miles McBride.
Hart has publicly acknowledged that uncertainty surrounding his future could occasionally become difficult to manage, although he insists that his primary focus remains on basketball.
Brunson, who has played alongside Hart for several years, believes his teammate will handle the situation appropriately.
“He’s gonna be a professional,” Brunson said Saturday. “Not just him – everybody. Everyone’s gonna be professional and continue to do their jobs. No matter what the situation is, things are gonna happen.
“There’s always gonna be a roller coaster every season. Ups and downs emotionally. No matter what, when we’re out there on the court, we’re gonna have each other’s backs.”
[td_flex_block_1 category_id="" custom_title="MORE FOR YOU" header_color="#e91e63" td_filter_default_txt="" tag_slug="" sort="random_7_day" tdc_css="eyJhbGwiOnsibWFyZ2luLXJpZ2h0IjoiMjUiLCJtYXJnaW4tYm90dG9tIjoiMjUiLCJtYXJnaW4tbGVmdCI6IjI1IiwicGFkZGluZy10b3AiOiIxMSIsInBhZGRpbmctcmlnaHQiOiIyNSIsInBhZGRpbmctYm90dG9tIjoiMTEiLCJwYWRkaW5nLWxlZnQiOiIyNSIsImJhY2tncm91bmQtY29sb3IiOiIjZjNmNGY2IiwiZGlzcGxheSI6IiIsIi0tdGRiLXNjcm9sbC1hbmltIjoibm9uZSJ9LCJwaG9uZSI6eyJtYXJnaW4tcmlnaHQiOiIwIiwibWFyZ2luLWxlZnQiOiIwIiwicGFkZGluZy1yaWdodCI6IjE1IiwicGFkZGluZy1sZWZ0IjoiMTUiLCJkaXNwbGF5IjoiIn0sInBob25lX21heF93aWR0aCI6NzY3fQ==" mx3f_title_font_transform="" mx3f_title_font_weight="700" title_tag="h3" all_modules_space="0" video_popup="" image_size="td_218x150" image_height="65" image_floated="eyJwaG9uZSI6ImZsb2F0X2xlZnQifQ==" autoplay_vid="" show_vid_t="none" modules_category="image" modules_category_margin="eyJhbGwiOiI1cHgiLCJwaG9uZSI6IjVweCJ9" modules_extra_cat="hide" show_author="none" show_date="none" show_com="none" show_review="none" show_excerpt="none" show_audio="none" show_btn="none" f_title_font_size="15" f_title_font_line_height="1.25" f_title_font_weight="600" f_title_font_spacing="-0.2" cat_bg="#e16e00" modules_divider="solid" category_ids="-4430,-5489" show_cat="" modules_on_row="eyJhbGwiOiIzMy4zMzMzMzMzMyUiLCJwaG9uZSI6IjEwMCUifQ==" limit="3" meta_info_align="" modules_divider_color="#333333" image_width="eyJhbGwiOiIxMDAiLCJwaG9uZSI6IjQwIn0=" meta_info_border_color="" modules_border_color="" modules_gap="15" m_padding="eyJwaG9uZSI6IjE1cHggMHB4IDE1cHggMHB4In0=" art_title="eyJwaG9uZSI6IjBweCAwcHggMHB4IDE1cHgifQ==" video_icon="eyJwaG9uZSI6IjIwIn0=" f_cat_font_size="eyJwaG9uZSI6IjgifQ=="]The Knicks are entering the season as defending NBA champions, making it important for the team to avoid distractions as several players await decisions about their futures.
Brunson emphasized that outside speculation should not interfere with the team’s preparation or performance.
“There’s only potential distractions when you read and believe what people are saying,” Brunson said. “No matter what’s being said, no matter what’s being talked about consistently or not, you believe what you wanna believe, you hear what you wanna hear.
“It’s on us as teammates and individuals and professionals to understand what the nature of it is. People are gonna talk about it. So we gotta control what we can control and do our jobs.
“We’re gonna have each other’s back, regardless. We’re human, as well. There’s gonna be days we have good days, bad days, whatever. I think the way we won was just because of how connected we were as a group, so we gotta keep that.”
