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

[dirkfansince1998]

I just think about Ballmer taking on tons of $ in the deal for Norm Powell and Cov at the deadline and now signing Wall. They may even keep Batum and Hartenstein. Or that tax $ GS has been and is about to pay. Nets Joe Tsai is the Alibaba founder. Cuban just seems sort of small fry compared to that kind of spending power in todays NBA. Because either way it’s framed as a “business decision” right? As in, “we had a # we valued him at, and beyond that it’s a bad team building decision.” Or (translation) “40m in tax really actually hurts guys. I can AFFORD to pay it, technically, yes, but I won’t because I would feel it.” Cuban has too much pride to say the latter so we will get spin about the Dragic/Luka connection and maybe some other mid-minor trade or signing to distract.

That´s the reality. If they knew that Brunson would join the Knicks they had options to at least find some kind of replacement. All of them involved/involve adding salary to the payroll and the way it looks that´s just not going to happen.