The New York Knicks have locked down their starting five for multiple years following Mikal Bridges’ contract extension.
Mikal Bridges‘ future with the New York Knicks has been a major topic of discussion as the franchise delayed signing him to a new contract extension.
However, the Knicks and Bridges recently came to a four-year, $150 million agreement that will keep the 28-year-old guard in New York.
After re-signing Bridges to a long-term deal, the front office has one less thing to worry about heading into the 2025-26 NBA season.
But 2016 NBA champion Iman Shumpert believes that to truly make a difference, superstar Jalen Brunson needs to make a big change to his playing style.
“When it comes to it, it’s all about playing with your toys. … When they are all on the court together, he should know how to play with his toys,” Shumpert said, via NBA Today (h/t NBA_NewYork).
He added: “As much as we love Jalen Brunson, I think his usage has to go down a little bit for [Bridges and Knicks teammates] to flourish, and if you want the most production.”
For context, last season, Brunson had a usage rate of 29.4% on the Knicks. Evidently, he had the highest usage rate on the team, with Karl-Anthony Towns being in second spot (27.3%).
While Brunson averaged 26.0 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 7.3 assists per game for the Knicks, fatigue caught up to him come playoff time as the Knicks suffered an Eastern Conference Finals exit.
Brunson has been named an NBA All-Star in the last two seasons. Evidently, tweaking too much of his game could lead to a disaster for the Knicks.
So, Shumpert did mention that Brunson would still need to be ball-dominant if and when required.
“We don’t want it to happen at the wrong time. You still want him to be who he is–have to be ball dominant… but when you say, pick your spots, we’re talking about – fourth quarters,” he continued.
“Throughout the game, you can share the sugar a little bit more, and I think it has to be a conscious thing for Jalen Brunson,” Shumpert stated.
All things considered, Shumpert wants Brunson to take the call when it’s time to dial it down rather than taking the help of new head coach Mike Brown.
