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By Matthew Couden
Contributing Writer
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Josh Hart came to the defense of his New York Knicks teammate, Jalen Brunson, after Draymond Green's critical comments about taking a large pay cut to help out the team.
Green appeared on the "Club 520 Podcast," and mentioned how Brunson didn't need to do what he did, and another player, such as Hart, could have taken less money.
"It's the New York Knicks, bro. They can afford it. You ain't got to take no discount for them to get paid. My situation is different because Steph making $270 million, Klay making $180 million. All right, something got to give. Cool. I can take a less,” Green said.
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“He's the top guy. Let Josh Hart or somebody else take less. They in my role. Guess what, Steph Curry ain't take a penny less. And neither did Klay Thompson ain't take a penny less. I don't know what he's doing. That's $100 million," he said.
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"We got to normalize grown men not counting other people's pockets," Hart fired off in a tweet on Wednesday night, also resharing the podcast clip.
In July 2024, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Brunson agreed to a four-year, $156.5 million contract extension with the Knicks. That was $113 million less than he was eligible to sign for in a year from that deal, giving the team financial flexibility to make moves to keep the core parts of their roster intact.
In that same month, the Knicks signed OG Anunoby to a five-year, $212.5 million deal. They also traded for Mikal Bridges from the Brooklyn Nets, which included $48 million left on a two-year contract.
That October, the team traded with the Minnesota Timberwolves to acquire Karl-Anthony Towns, another key part of the starting lineup. At the time of the moves, Hart had previously signed a signed a four-year, $81 million extension in August 2023.
Brunson's sacrifice worked in the team's favor. They went on a dominant run this past postseason, defeating the Atlanta Hawks 4-2 in the opening round, and then sweeping the Philadelphia 76ers and Cleveland Cavaliers. From there, the Knicks outplayed a young, talented San Antonio Spurs team and defeated them 4-1 to win the NBA Finals.
Green's remarks arrive after the Warriors star just agreed to a new one-year, $27.7 million deal to return to Golden State for his 15th season. The former Defensive Player of the Year initially declined his player option to try to help the Warriors land other players, including LeBron James, but the NBA superstar ultimately chose Philadelphia.
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