The spiraling New York Knicks season turned for the worse when All-Star point guard Jalen Brunson got hurt at the start of their crucial road game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday, March 3.
Brunson left the game limping with a sore left knee, the Knicks announced.
Brunson sustained the injury when he landed awkwardly following a missed jumper. The Knicks star tried to walk it off but fell immediately on the floor in obvious pain.
The injury appears to be serious as Brunson needed help to leave the game and went straight to the locker room. They are already without Julius Randle (dislocated shoulder), OG Anunoby (elbow surgery) and Mitchell Robinson (ankle surgery).
Brunson is in the midst of a career season, averaging 27.7 points on 40.7% 3-point shooting and 6.7 assists.
Fresh off his first All-Star berth as a reserve, Brunson’s 31.9 points per game in February ranked second behind his former teammate Luka Doncic (33.4 points per game) of the Dallas Mavericks. It also represented a career-best in a month for the Knicks’ diminutive guard.
Brunson has defied the odds, blossoming into an All-Star after landing the first six-figure deal ($104 million over four years) for a former second-round pick.
Knicks Get Point Guard Help
With Brunson’s injury, the addition of Shake Milton becomes more than just a backcourt depth move for the Knicks.
Milton plans to sign with the Knicks once he clears waivers after agreeing to a buyout with the Detroit Pistons, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The 27-year-old Milton will fill the Knicks open roster spot and will be eligible for the playoffs.
If Brunson misses time, Milton will be thrust into Tom Thibodeau’s immediately.
According to SNY’s Ian Begley, the Knicks have checked in with the Minnesota Timberwolves before they traded for Alec Burks and Bojan Bogdanovic.
Milton averaged 6.8 points and 1.5 assists while shooting 42.3% from the field and 33.3% from 3-point line in four games for the Pistons.
Milton, who desired more playing time, signed a $10 million, two-year deal with the Timberwolves last summer. But the backup guard only averaged 12.9 minutes, producing 4.7 points and 1.3 assists off the bench.
Minnesota traded him to Detroit as part of the package to acquire Monte Morris.
Milton will be the third player represented by CAA’s Drew Morrison to join the Knicks after Anunoby and Isaiah Hartenstein.
Is Jalen Brunson Not Enough for Knicks?
Wojnarowski revealed on the February 27 episode of the “NBA Today” that the Knicks agree with two-time WNBA champion Becky Hammon in her opinion in December that Brunson is not enough to lead them to a championship which drew flak from the Knicks fanbase.
“I texted Becky that night and said, ‘Don’t let anyone make you apologize for this. The Knicks agree with you,’” Wojnarowski said. “That’s not a slight on Jalen Brunson who has transformed that organization. He is one of the biggest free agent signings of the past decade in the NBA.
But the reason that the Knicks are hoarding draft picks and assets is that they want to — if he becomes available — get a First, Second-Team All-NBA-level player. You win with that. [Nikola] Jokic, Giannis [Antetokounmpo], LeBron James, Steph [Curry].
And if we were doing a draft of available [star] players, would Jalen Brunson be in the first five, the first 10, the first 15? Maybe? But championships are won when you have one of those guys. That doesn’t diminish what Brunson has met. What he has done in his career. He is one of the great success stories in this league from a second-round pick.”
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