The NBA never stays still for long. One champion sets the tone, and everyone else starts borrowing the blueprint, chasing the same formula, trying to build the next version of what just worked. Right now, that blueprint belongs to the New York Knicks and Jalen Brunson.
Brunson took a pay cut to help the Knicks win a title, and that move gave New York room to stack real depth around him. That balance - a star ball-handler, another superstar to lead the way, and enough quality behind them to keep the machine humming - is exactly what other teams are now trying to assemble.
It’s not about keeping up with the Joneses anymore. It’s about keeping up with the Knicks.
That kind of league-wide reaction has happened before. When LeBron James was at his peak, teams spent years trying to figure out how to stop him or how to build someone who could match what he brought.
Andre Iguodala became that answer for the Warriors and won an NBA Finals MVP because of it. Before him, Kawhi Leonard filled that same role and also ended up with a Finals MVP.
Nikola Jokic sparked a different kind of adjustment. Along with Joel Embiid, he helped bring the big man back to the center of the modern game, and teams started rethinking how important it was to have a quality center driving things. The Minnesota Timberwolves even constructed their roster specifically to beat Jokic and the Denver Nuggets in a playoff series, and it worked the very next year after Denver won the championship.
The same thing happened when the Warriors were rolling - teams wanted more three-point shooting. When the Celtics won, the Knicks added more wings to help defend Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, and that approach worked.
That’s the league in a nutshell: copy what wins, then try to outdo it. The Knicks have built something that is difficult to duplicate, but that has never stopped the rest of the NBA from trying.
And this summer, the imitation has already started.
The Wolves traded for Ball to be their leading man at point guard. The Heat traded for Antetokounmpo so they could have some actual star power in town.
James may take a pay cut to join the Warriors, and Draymond Green is already considering doing the same. Depth still matters just as much, which is why the Celtics may trade Jaylen Brown for more of it.
Another team may land Brown to boost its star power.
In their own strange ways, teams around the league are all chasing the same thing: the Knicks’ mix of stars and depth.
In Other News...
Knicks May Have A Way To Keep Mitchell Robinson After All
Mitchell Robinsons next contract has become one of the more delicate Knicks questions, not just because he matters on the floor, but because of how tightly New York is trying to manage its books. Owner James Dolan has been reluctant to push too far past the NBAs second-apron luxury-tax line, which has made any long-term retention plan feel complicated even as the Knicks weigh how much they want to invest in keeping their center in place.
Still, there is a path for the front office to explore if Robinsons market does not spiral out of control. New York could use a short-term approach that keeps the roster together now and gives the team room to adjust later, with smaller trades and salary trimming potentially providing a way to get back under the line. The wrinkle is timing, because the Knicks would need enough flexibility to make that cleanup work before the leagues harsher penalties start to bind their future. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Just Got A Warning About How Brunson Could View This
Nikola Jokics looming contract choice in Denver has put a familiar fear back on the radar in New York: what happens when a franchise player has enough leverage to decide whether a max extension is really the move? For the Knicks, the name to watch is Jalen Brunson, whose future could eventually intersect with the same kind of decision point if the team keeps operating with a hard eye on its spending limits.
James Dolans reported reluctance to push the Knicks past the second salary apron only sharpens the issue, because that posture can shape more than just one contract negotiation. It affects how much flexibility the front office has now and how convincing the long-term pitch can be later, with the possibility of having to navigate tough calls on core pieces and, eventually, on the player the franchise would least want to lose. [Read more 🡒]
Tyler Koleks Knicks Path Just Got A Lot Murkier
The Knicks backcourt picture got a little more crowded with news that the team has agreed to a three-year extension with Jose Alvarado, a move that reinforces the depth chart behind Jalen Brunson and trims the runway for Tyler Kolek. For a young guard trying to carve out a role, the timing matters. Every extra ballhandler changes the minutes math, the practice reps and the margin for error, and New York has made clear it values guards who can handle the ball, defend and keep the rotation flexible.
Kolek still has the kind of passing feel that can keep him in the conversation, but the path to steady playing time looks narrower now than it did before Alvarados return. The Knicks can try to get creative by using Kolek in more of a combo role, though that would come with its own ripple effects elsewhere on the roster. If the front office eventually looks for ways to balance the group, Kolek could wind up in the kind of trade conversation that often involves draft assets or bigger roster needs, which is why this latest move feels bigger than one backup guard signing. [Read more 🡒]