Josh Hart’s decision to call out an old Draymond Green clip didn’t land quietly. It pulled Green right back into a conversation he had already made clear he felt strongly about: Jalen Brunson and the money he left on the table with the Knicks.
The exchange started when a few-year-old appearance by Green on the “Club 520” podcast with Jeff Teague resurfaced on Monday. In that clip, Green argued that Brunson should not have taken a discount to stay with New York.
“It’s the New York Knicks, bro. They can afford it.
You ain’t got to take no discount for them to get paid. My situation is different because Steph making $270 [million], Klay making $180 [million].
All right, something got to give. Cool.
I can take less.”
“[But] he the top guy. Let Josh Hart or somebody else take less.
They in my role. But guess what, Steph Curry ain’t take a penny less.
And neither did Klay Thompson ain’t take a penny less. ... I don’t know what he doing."
Hart, who is now an NBA champion and has become one of the Knicks’ most vocal voices, saw the clip and fired back on Tuesday with a message aimed at the broader idea of players judging each other’s contracts: “We got to normalize grown men not counting other peoples pockets.”
Green answered on Thursday, and he didn’t hide his annoyance. He took issue with Hart responding long after the original video and doing it only after the Knicks had already won.
“Dude waited 2 years to respond to that video from 520? Why not say it then?
Let's normalize not front runnin and talking while you up," Green wrote on Threads. "Be on the same type of time AT ALL TIMES!”
The backdrop to all of it is Brunson’s decision in 2024 to sign an extension with the Knicks rather than wait for a bigger payday. He gave up about $113 million in the process, passing on the chance to become eligible for a five-year, $269 million contract and instead taking a four-year deal worth $156.5 million.
Brunson said at the time that the choice was about helping New York build a title team, especially with the tougher financial rules around roster construction.
“I think about every decision that I make and I’m completely comfortable with what I’ve done,” Brunson said, per ESPN. “Obviously I’m well off, myself and my family, we’re obviously well off, so that’s first and foremost.
But I want to win. I want to win here.”
After the Knicks won the title in June, Brunson was asked about the decision again and said he was comfortable with it because it let him play without worrying about his contract hanging over him.
“You never know what can happen in a year,” Brunson said on The View. “When it was presented to me, obviously the deal, being able to play with a free mind, not thinking about if I play well, if I do this, if I do that.”
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