Wednesday Posted & Toasted Notes: Lotsa Brunson, Soft Deadlines, Decisions And Extensions

Extenuating day of work at P&T with so much NBA content around this time of the year. Would you believe it? Me neither. Links and notes below.

• Jalen Brunson told the New York Post that winning the NBA championship has not changed how he views himself. Read the interview in full; it’s well worth it, and JB discusses plenty of things, not to mention his mother, Sandra, makes a cameo too!

“It will be the same. It’s something that I get to walk around with and think about when I’m — when I need to give myself a little confidence, or whatever, just in certain situations. But my approach and everything has to be the same. Just because I’ve reached the mountaintop of winning an NBA championship doesn’t mean that it’s over with. I feel like there’s still a lot more to do and a lot more that I can prove. It’s 100 percent always going to be in the mind, I’m just not going to let it define me.”

• Brunson also touched on his recovery from wrist surgery in a separate NYP piece, saying it’s tested his patience but remains something he attacks every day. The original recovery timetable put it around six to eight weeks, so Brunson should be on track to be ready around training camp.
• Regarding the ring-night matchup against the Sixers, Brunson expects “fireworks, for sure.”
• If the Knicks want to repeat, they may need more production from Mohamed Diawara, Tyler Kolek and Pacome Dadiet as their expensive veteran core becomes increasingly difficult to maintain, The Athletic’s James L. Edwards III wrote. JE3 ranked those three players in a “most likely to contribute next season” ranking. Can you guess who’s No. 1?
• Miles McBride is more than likely to enter the season without an extension, according to NYP’s Stefan Bondy. The reason? A “soft” (but very important) deadline has passed.
• The Knicks explored trades for several reserve big men earlier this offseason, including Pelicans center/forward Karlo Matkovic, according to SNY’s Ian Begley. So far, we keep waiting for our next beloved third-string center.
• The Knicks are expected to offer Karl-Anthony Towns an extension, but both JE3 and Begley believe a four-year, $272 million max is unlikely. That said, Begley predicted the sides will eventually reach an agreement unless New York’s offer is “insultingly low” and floated an extension beginning around $45 million.
• Josh Hart and Miles McBride are also extension-eligible, but Begley believes Hart is more likely to reach a new deal. Check out the Bondy point above to learn more!
• Jack Kayil’s decision to return to Alba Berlin on a new five-year deal could be a blessing for the Knicks, Kento Kato believes.
• One speculative option for the Knicks’ final roster spot is Ben Simmons. Daily Knicks’ Mark Nilon suggested New York could try to land Ben after he reportedly rejected them last offseason. Yeah, right?
• Hart is shocked at the NBA’s leaked schedule.
• Hart also took pride in Madison Square Garden’s celebrity row after seeing the official list for Game 4 of the NBA Finals.

• Hall of Fame coach Don Nelson died at 86. Nelson won five championships as a Celtics player, earned NBA Coach of the Year three times and briefly coached the Knicks during the 1995-96 season. Here’s what he said about that run, per NYP’s Mike Vaccaro.

“It does bother me that it didn’t work out when I coached the Knicks. Coaching that team is one of the platinum jobs in sports, and they entrusted me with a team that had come so close. I had ideas on how to get them closer. The players had other ideas.”

• No, Russell Westbrook is not in advanced negotiations with Hapoel Tel Aviv. It was just a hoax, doofus.
• Jeff Teague rejected Monta Ellis’ claim that Golden State could have achieved the same success with Ellis replacing Stephen Curry. Sadly, Teague doesn’t know Monta Ellis have it all.
• Shaquille O’Neal revealed why, in his view, the NBA Dunk Contest has steadily declined. For context, O’Neal has launched DUNKMAN, a competition featuring professional dunkers with a $500,000 top prize. Nice!