With Jalen Brunson giving up a chance of signing a five-year $269 million extension next summer and inking a deal that pays him $113 million less, a few days ago, he has turned into a hero for the Knicks fans. Although JB’s massive sacrifice provides his team with more flexibility to build a Championship roster, it might unintentionally also have affected how the front offices will handle their superstars going forward. Raising a similar concern, TNT veteran Dennis Scott warned Jalen’s father of how this could impact other star players as Brandon Ingram now faces a trickier situation with the Pelicans.

Joining the ongoing Summer League broadcast, Scott revealed that he recently met with Jalen’s father Rick Brunson, and gave him his honest opinion about his son’s 4-year $156.5 million deal, “Well, I bumped into my good friend Rick Brunson last night and I said ‘I’m happy for you and Jalen, you raised one heck of a son, but you know you messed up the game now.’” 

Sure enough, Scott was referring to the idea that JB’s financial sacrifice could set a precedent, as front offices might now use it to gain leverage over their superstars and pressure them into signing extensions with lower values.

But it might depend on how far the team is from winning a title and how the said sacrifice can get them closer to it. “I’m being very transparent. I love the fact that you wanna win and you are living up to it. I think it’s great. But now Brandon Ingram is in the same situation…But are you willing to take less to win? Or do you want all that deserving to you because of the situation and time?” Scott added.

Yes, as Ingram enters the final year of his five-year $158.2 million contract and is eligible to sign an extension with the Pels, he is somehow stuck in limbo as they intend to keep him in New Orleans but they also lack the financial flexibility to offer him his desired deal.

Do David Griffin’s comments prove that Jalen Brunson’s sacrifice isn’t an anomaly?

As Ingram’s future in NOLA remains uncertain, Pelicans EVP David Griffin recently revealed the team’s desire to keep BI with them but with some limitations, “So I think from a relationship standpoint, we’ve been really clear we’d prefer Brandon stays with us and Brandon’s been pretty clear he prefers to stay with us. At the same time, there is a financial reality to this, and where I think we can go in terms of keeping this group together might not be as far as he and his agency would like us to be able to go.”

Recently acquiring Dejounte Murray in a trade with the Hawks, the Pelicans do not have much flexibility left in the money they can spend. Moreover, with the penalties of crossing the second apron of luxury tax kicking in this year, no team wants to enter that zone as it limits them from making any significant moves until they come under the threshold. Therefore, if Ingram wants to continue his tenure with the Pelicans, he might be forced to follow in Brunson’s footsteps and take a massive pay cut in his new deal.

“In some markets, you don’t have to make any decisions: You get a max, and you get a max, and you get a max, and you hoard talent. We’re not that market… So, if there’s a way we can do that with Brandon in a sustainable way, we want to do it. And I think he feels the same,” Griffin added. Although he didn’t outright say that BI needs to make a financial sacrifice, his comments are hinting toward more owners trying to convince their superstars to take the Jalen Brunson route for a chance at winning a Championship.