BRUNSON BURNER: to NYK for 4yrs/$104M (no SnT) | NYK docked 2025 2nd for tampering

[mavsluvr]

Very interesting ML. What do you think about the scenario as the one in the last game/ two games. Where Luka allows JB to run the offense some considerable time? He was on purpose involving JB to control the offense.

I think it worked well. It was clear to me that the defenses were surprised by this. No attention was on JB, and all on Luka. They were waiting for screens to Luka and plays drawn in that side Luka was. Instead, Brunson had "easy" path to the rim, with single matchups and no double teams. And, this is exactly what we want I guess - A second playmaker that gets the defenses in trouble when they focus too much on Luka. It worked.

Do you think Brunson would be happy staying long term with those conditions? For an analogy like a running back commitee in NFL?

Agree with your description of events. While I acknowledge and love Brunson's growing accomplishments, I do fear that his breakout success is at least partly the result of the "surprise" factor you mention. He really disappeared in the second half, after the Celtics made their adjustments. If he continues to have wildly successful games, opponents will likely start planning for him, and it will get harder. And he's still a question mark for the playoffs. 

As far as whether Brunson would be happy being Player B in a high-powered back court, I think he'll do that if he perceives it as his best option. But we keep being told that his first choice seems to be to move on to greener pastures, and that we shouldn't hold it against him if he does, because it is natural for a young, talented point guard to want to spread his wings and fly on his own. I don't know.