Darius Garland, Cleveland Cavaliers. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images) – New York Knicks
3: Darius Garland
Darius Garland was inconsistent in Cleveland’s first-round playoff series against New York, with his best game undoubtedly coming in the Cavaliers’ lone win. Garland dropped 32 points (26 in the first half) in his team’s Game 2 107-90 rout over the Knicks.
Unlike Jalen Brunson, Garland has been named an All-Star once before, in 2022. Cleveland fans thought Garland was also snubbed from being an All-Star in 2023. He finished the regular season averaging a near career-high 21.6 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 7.8 assists in 69 games, shooting 46.2% from the floor and 41% from three.
Last summer, the Cavaliers signed Garland to a five-year extension worth up to $231 million ($197 million guaranteed). He will make eight million more than Brunson in 2023-24 ($34 million) and 12 million more in 2024-25 ($36.7 million). In Garland’s final year of his contract, he’ll make $44.9 million.
Garland could be in store for another solid season in 2023-24, but if non-Cavaliers fans had to pick between having him or Brunson or their team, the majority would go with Brunson. Keep in mind which player outperformed the other just a few months ago.
answer that question </a>once the 2022-23 season began.</p>
<p>With each game New York played, Brunson’s contract started to look more like a bargain. The narrative shifted from him being overpaid to being underpaid. The Knicks got their money’s worth and then some in Brunson’s first season in NYC that ended with the team’s first appearance in the Eastern Conference Semifinals in 10 years.</p>
<p>The opening of 2023 free agency only made Brunson’s contract look better, with players like Fred VanVleet signing a three-year, $130 million contract with Houston.</p>
<p>Brunson made $27.7 million this past season and is on a descending contract, so he’ll make $26.3 million next season and $24.9 million in 2024-25 before having a $24.9 million player option for 2025-26. When you compare his salary for next season to what some other guards in the league will be making, it only confirms that the Knicks got an absolute steal last summer.</p>
<p><span style="color: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 600;" data-darkreader-inline-color="">4: Jrue Holiday</span></p>
<p>You’re not alone if you’re still trying to figure out how Jrue Holiday was named an All-Star reserve over Jalen Brunson.</p>
<p>The 33-year-old is entering his fourth season with the Bucks (15th season overall) and will make $32.5 million. Holiday signed a four-year extension before the 2022-23 season worth up to $134 million if he opts into his $37.4 million player option for 2024-25.</p>
<p>Holiday averaged 19.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, 7.4 assists, and 1.2 steals this past season in 67 games while shooting 47.9% from the field and 38.4% from three. Brunson averaged more points than Holiday (24) and shot better from the floor (49.1%) and three (41.6%). Brunson also averaged exactly 10 points more than Holiday in the postseason.</p>
<p>Considering that Holiday signed his extension a couple of months after New York signed Brunson, perhaps so much negative attention shouldn’t have been placed on the Knicks’ front office.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #007BC1" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://dailyknicks.com/2023/08/01/4-guards-somehow-paid-more-knicks-jalen-brunson-2023-24-young-poole/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> A guard who Brunson outplayed in the playoffs </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-145955" src=https://dailyknicks.com/2023/08/01/4-guards-somehow-paid-more-knicks-jalen-brunson-2023-24-young-poole/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1706,w_2560/https%3A%2F%2Fdailyknicks.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2023%2F07%2F1486124377-scaled.jpeg" alt="New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Darius Garland" width="2560" height="1706" srcset="https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2023/07/1486124377-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2023/07/1486124377-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2023/07/1486124377-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2023/07/1486124377-2048x1365.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Darius Garland, Cleveland Cavaliers. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images) – New York Knicks</p>
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<h3>3: Darius Garland</h3>
<p>Darius Garland was inconsistent in Cleveland’s first-round playoff series against New York, with his best game undoubtedly coming<a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2023/08/01/4-guards-somehow-paid-more-knicks-jalen-brunson-2023-24-young-poole/2/"https://dailyknicks.com/2023/04/18/darius-garland-too-much-knicks-handle-horribly-embarrassing-loss/"> in the Cavaliers’ lone win</a>. Garland dropped 32 points (26 in the first half) in his team’s Game 2 107-90 rout over the Knicks.</p>
<p>Unlike Jalen Brunson, Garland has been named an All-Star once before, in 2022. Cleveland fans thought Garland was also snubbed from being an All-Star in 2023. He finished the regular season averaging a near career-high 21.6 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 7.8 assists in 69 games, shooting 46.2% from the floor and 41% from three.</p>
<p>Last summer, the Cavaliers signed Garland to a five-year extension worth up to $231 million ($197 million guaranteed). He will make eight million more than Brunson in 2023-24 ($34 million) and 12 million more in 2024-25 ($36.7 million). In Garland’s final year of his contract, he’ll make $44.9 million.</p>
<p>Garland could be in store for another solid season in 2023-24, but if non-Cavaliers fans had to pick between having him or Brunson or their team, the majority would go with Brunson. Keep in mind which player outperformed the other just a few months ago.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #007BC1" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://dailyknicks.com/2023/08/01/4-guards-somehow-paid-more-knicks-jalen-brunson-2023-24-young-poole/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> A guard who's hated by Knicks fans </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-145956" src=https://dailyknicks.com/2023/08/01/4-guards-somehow-paid-more-knicks-jalen-brunson-2023-24-young-poole/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1753,w_2560/https%3A%2F%2Fdailyknicks.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2023%2F07%2F1466528528-scaled.jpeg" alt="New York Knicks, Atlanta Hawks, Trae Young" width="2560" height="1753" srcset="https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2023/07/1466528528-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2023/07/1466528528-768x526.jpeg 768w, https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2023/07/1466528528-1536x1052.jpeg 1536w, https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2023/07/1466528528-2048x1402.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) – New York Knicks</p>
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<h3>2: Trae Young</h3>
<p>Knicks fans were forced to sit back and watch Trae Young and the Hawks eliminate New York in the first round of the playoffs two years ago. Thankfully, Jalen Brunson’s arrival to the Knicks led to the team not only making it back to the postseason for the first time since then but advancing past the first round.</p>
<p>Young’s future in Atlanta isn’t as certain as it was when he signed a five-year, $207 million extension in 2021. He was fresh off an All-Star and All-NBA season that ended with a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals.</p>
<p>The 24-year-old was also labeled as an All-Star snub this past season. He averaged 26.2 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 10.2 assists in 73 games while shooting 43% from the field and 33.5% from deep, a sizable dip from his 38.2% three-point percentage in 2021-22.</p>
<p>Young and the Hawks advanced past the play-in tournament in April to a first-round series against the Celtics. The guard scored 32 points in Game 3 to cut Boston’s lead to 2-1 rather than 3-0. That performance wasn’t enough to stop many from wondering what had happened to the player who had taken the playoffs by storm a couple of years before.</p>
<p>Young is flashier and younger than Brunson, but the Knicks have the better point guard. Speaking of, Young is set to make nearly $14 million more than Brunson next season.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #007BC1" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://dailyknicks.com/2023/08/01/4-guards-somehow-paid-more-knicks-jalen-brunson-2023-24-young-poole/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> A new face in the Eastern Conference </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-145957" src=https://dailyknicks.com/2023/08/01/4-guards-somehow-paid-more-knicks-jalen-brunson-2023-24-young-poole/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1760,w_2560/https%3A%2F%2Fdailyknicks.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2023%2F07%2F1442832508-scaled.jpeg" alt="New York Knicks, Golden State Warriors, Jordan Poole" width="2560" height="1760" srcset="https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2023/07/1442832508-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2023/07/1442832508-768x528.jpeg 768w, https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2023/07/1442832508-1536x1056.jpeg 1536w, https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2023/07/1442832508-2048x1408.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Jordan Poole, Golden State Warriors. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) – New York Knicks</p>
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<h3>1: Jordan Poole</h3>
<p>Jordan Poole went from being a Most Improved Candidate in 2021-22 and winning a championship with the Warriors <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2023/08/01/4-guards-somehow-paid-more-knicks-jalen-brunson-2023-24-young-poole/2/"https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/jordan-pooles-once-invigorating-warriors-tenure-ends-in-precipitous-frustrating-fall-from-grace/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">to being a disgrace</a> in the playoffs in 2023. Life comes at you fast. The 2019 first-round draft pick was sent to the Wizards earlier this offseason in a deal centered around Chris Paul.</p>
<p>Poole averaged 20.4 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 4.5 assists in all 82 regular season games for Golden State this past year. He shot 43% from the floor and a dismal 33.6% from three. Poole was a disaster in the playoffs as he averaged only 10.3 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in 13 games, shooting a terrible 34.1% from the field and an even worse 25.4% from three.</p>
<p>Before the start of the 2022-23 season, Poole signed a four-year, $140 million extension with the Warriors. To follow that up with a poor playoff performance didn’t help Poole’s cause. Even RJ Barrett managed to turn it up in the postseason.</p>
<p>Poole is on a younger team in D.C., where he’ll be allowed to be in the spotlight he craves. He won’t be competing for a championship, but the 24-year-old could have quite the bounce-back season with a more significant role. The $27.5 million he’ll be making is only slighter more than the $26.3 million Jalen Brunson will be making, but Brunson is not only a better scorer, but he plays selfless, too.</p>
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