Josh Hart is encouraging Draymond Green to worry about his own financial spreadsheet.
In a recent episode of the “Club 520 Podcast” the Warriors forward commented on what he believed was a poor decision by Jalen Brunson for taking less to sign an extension with the Knicks in 2024, saying the team “can afford it” — and also referenced Hart’s bottom line.
“It’s the New York Knicks, bro. They can afford it. You ain’t gotta take no discount,” Green said.
“My situation is different because Steph (Curry) making 270 (million), Klay (Thompson) making 180. Alright, something gotta give,” Green said. “Cool, I could take less. But he the top guy! By the way, let Josh Hart or somebody else take less. They in my role, let one of them take less, but guess what? Steph Curry ain’t taking a penny less and neither did Klay Thompson. If this gonna work, somebody do. Well guess what I ain’t really expecting them to take less. I don’t know what he doing, but I’m happy for him.”
The questioning of Brunson’s sacrifice and mentioning that Hart should have been the one to take less didn’t sit right with the Knicks’ wing.
“We got to normalize grown men not counting other peoples pockets,” he wrote on X in a quote tweet of a video of Green’s comments.
Brunson’s pay cut — in which he did not sign a max extension but can recoup most of the money he left on the table in a future extension — allowed the Knicks to build up a competitive group and depth around him, which eventually led to the’s franchise first title since 1973 this past season.
Yet, Green, who recently signed a $27.7 million deal with the Warriors, argued that could have happened regardless.
He pointed to Warriors star Curry and ex-Golden State sharpshooter Thompson playing under max contracts while still winning four NBA titles between 2015-22.
From a financial perspective, Brunson’s decision was surprising at the time.
If Brunson had waited until the following summer for free agency, he could have signed a five-year deal worth about $270 million.
Yet, he agreed to a four-year, $156.5 million contract extension.
The money left on the table enabled the Knicks to make deals for Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges that fit within the salary cap, and those two helped the Knicks beat the Spurs in the NBA Finals.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
