Jalen Brunson is taking an altruistic view of the NBA Cup prize.
Josh Hart is considering himself.
The distinction in teammates, offered with the standard humor from Hart, was performed out within the two days main as much as the Knicks’ 121-106 victory Tuesday to advance to the NBA Cup knockout spherical.
With three extra wins — together with subsequent week’s quarterfinals in opposition to the Hawks — the Knicks get the $515,000 prize per participant.
“It would mean a lot [to win]. It would mean a lot for us to get [to Las Vegas for the final] and do all that,” Brunson mentioned. “You have guys on the team who may be on one-year contracts or two-way deals or whatever. And you get to go out there and try to win for them and it means a lot.”
As Brunson alluded, the prize cash is flat throughout the roster and is disproportionately useful to gamers incomes much less.
For example, the first-place cash represents a roughly 50 p.c bonus for Ariel Hukporti and simply 1 p.c for Karl-Anthony Cities.
There’s additionally a $206,000 bump for second-place finishers, $103,000 for semifinalists and $51,500 for quarterfinalists.
Hart, who’s incomes over $18 million this season, has his eyes on luxurious gadgets.
“That’s found money, so I might buy a watch or something with it,” Hart mentioned. “I’ve been wanting a new car. That’s found money so I’ll do something foolish with it.”
Former Knick Isaiah Hartenstein has returned from his fractured hand, is enjoying nicely and had some attention-grabbing feedback following his Thunder’s current recreation in opposition to the Rockets.
“Some guys, I’ll be honest, they play selfishly,” Hartenstein mentioned Sunday. “There are some guys within the league who simply type of play extra for themselves [and] they don’t play for the group. [OKC stars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams] don’t. They’re very team-focused and I believe that’s what makes us nice.
“I think a lot of NBA stars, they kind of take a lot of plays off defensively,” the middle added. “They don’t and I feel like that’s what makes them very unselfish.”
Hartenstein didn’t identify any of the celebs he was critiquing however it’s a pure leap to his former teammates.
He performed the final two seasons with Julius Randle and Brunson in New York.
Earlier than that, Hartenstein was with Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, James Harden and Nikola Jokic at varied stops.
Hartenstein, who left the Knicks in free company for an $87 million payday, was shelved to begin the marketing campaign with a damaged hand.
He then performed 5 straight for OKC heading into Tuesday, averaging a formidable 15.2 factors, 13.8 rebounds and three.8 assists whereas capturing 61.1 p.c.
The Thunder, a championship contender, had been 4-1 with him within the lineup.
It’s been a smoother transition from the Knicks than for Randle and Donte DiVincenzo, who wanted a two-game win streak to get the Timberwolves again to .500 at 10-10.
DiVincenzo is capturing simply 35.8 p.c.
The identify “Brunson” went up 161 p.c for canine in 2024, based on Rover.com.
