Recently, according to the open-air stand reporter Eric Pincus, some executives in the league believe that maverick player Jaylen Brunson will seek a 4-year, 80 million contract in this offseason.
Brunson is the 33rd pick in the second round of the class of 2018, his previous contract was 6.11 million for 4 years, and his annual salary this season is 1.8 million (non-guaranteed), this summer, he will become a free agent, if he can really sign 4 years 80 million, then Brunson's annual salary will soar 10 times, or even more.
First of all, 80 million in 4 years is not a small amount, even in today's giant era, this is also a team of three or four bosses only have treatment, Brunson's name is obviously not up to this level, but as far as this season is concerned, his performance is really worth so much.
So far, Brunson has played in 43 games for the Lone Ranger, including 25 starts, averaging 16.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.0 steals in 31.0 minutes per game, and all four career highs, shooting 50.2%/33.3%/78.6% of the three and shooting 57.1% of the true shooting.
For comparison, Brunson averaged 25.0 minutes per game, 12.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.5 rebounds and 0.5 steals, 52.3%/40.5%/79.5% of the three-field shooting rate, and 61.8% of the true shooting rate.
Compared with last season, Brunson's playing time and ball possession have increased a lot, his round share has increased from 19.6% to 22.0%, although the three-point shooting rate has decreased somewhat, but the overall efficiency is still outstanding, especially in the end of the basket, Brunson's basket shooting rate was 62.3% last season, and this season it has remained at 61.1%, in addition, Brunson's assist rate has also increased from 21.5% last season to 29.5%.
At the end of December, in the 10 games that Doncic missed, Brunson delivered a star performance, averaging 21.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 7.4 assists per game, shooting 51.3% from the field, shooting 37.5% from three-point range, and increasing the possession rate of the round to 25.3%, while the true shooting rate increased to 59.1%.
You can see that Brunson does have the ability to be the starting point guard of a strong team, even if given more ball rights can be efficiently digested, not only that, but Brunson also has the advantage that his performance is quite stable.
Brunson has scored in double figures in 25 consecutive games since December last year, during which time he has delivered outstanding performances including 18 points, 11 assists, 28 points and 6 assists, 25 points and 9 assists, 27 points and 6 assists, 15 points, 10 assists, 15 points, 9 assists and 5 steals.
However, Brunson also has some shortcomings, such as the key moments are still not stable enough - so far in the season, Brunson has shot 10 of 25 in key moments (the difference in the last 5 minutes is not more than 5 points), only 1 of 8 for three points, which is less efficient than usual.
On the whole, this second-round show is still played.
In the first two years of being selected by the Lone Rangers, Brunson did not get the team to reuse, until last season, he began to take on more tasks on the bench, this season's injuries, the impact of the epidemic, the Lone Ranger lineup is not stable, Brunson seized several opportunities, from the bench to the starting, and showed himself.
But to be honest, even so, 4 years and 80 million is a bit too much - not to deny Brunson's efforts, but Brunson has only exploded for half a season, and it is still in the contract year, blindly giving big contracts, it is likely to continue to lock the future of the Lone Ranger, there have been too many such examples in history.
Of course, at the moment, the Lone Ranger should still focus on this season, with the outbreak of Brunson, Doncic can reduce some of the pressure of holding the ball, while the Lone Ranger's defense is also very different, this season's defensive efficiency is in the top five in the league, I hope to see this team different this year, in case it goes far in the playoffs, the big contract will naturally come.