In an alternate universe, Friday night is Jaden Ivey’s introduction to a Knicks fan base that has fallen in love with their gifted young point guard. Jalen Brunson remained in Dallas with the Mavericks after team president Leon Rose found a way to make a draft-night trade with the Pistons for the former Purdue star.
Of course, that didn’t happen. Detroit held onto Ivey, who had publicly expressed interest in winding up a Knick during the draft process, despite talks between the two teams. Brunson is the point guard Knicks fans are enamored with, and two will meet at the Garden in Brunson’s first game that counts as a member of the home team.
It will be a full-circle moment for Brunson, wearing the orange and blue in the Garden for the first time after spending part of his childhood in the building watching his father, Rick, play there. He grew up a Knicks fan, with a mini Knicks hoop in his southern New Jersey home. His Twitter profile photo is of himself as a child wearing a Knicks T-shirt.
“I’m excited. It’s going to be a fun night,” Brunson said. “But we need a win. That’s all I care about.”
Both players are coming off strong debuts with their new teams. Ivey had 19 points, four assists and three steals in the Pistons’ win over the Magic on Wednesday. Brunson, after a slow start due to foul trouble, nearly led the Knicks back from 19 points down in an overtime loss to the Grizzlies — producing 15 points, nine assists, six rebounds and no turnovers. He was at his best in crucial moments, forcing overtime by finding Cam Reddish for a game-tying 3-pointer with 3 seconds left and drawing a charge on Ja Morant on the ensuing possession.
“He’s just a winning player,” Julius Randle said. “Getting guys the ball in the right spots, being aggressive when he has, making winning plays down the stretch, taking that charge. That’s huge. If he doesn’t do that, we lose the game [in regulation]. I’m very excited to have a player like that on our team.”
It’s easy to forget now, since Brunson has said all the right things and has looked the part of the point guard the Knicks have lacked for so long, but they pursued Ivey. The consensus second-team All-American spoke glowingly of the possibility of playing for the Knicks, saying unprompted in a pre-draft interview, “There could be situations where I can land in New York,” and added that it would be “a tremendous opportunity, tremendous organization, the New York Knicks. I would be honored to be able to play there.”
The Knicks tried to trade up to select him on draft night, and after being unable to do so, the Knicks engaged the Pistons in potentially acquiring Ivey. Instead, they wound up making a different deal with the Pistons, sending them Kemba Walker and the draft rights to No. 13-overall pick Jalen Duren in exchange for a future first-round pick that created enough cap space to sign Brunson to a four-year, $104 million deal. That move came after the Knicks had already shed some payroll by sending the Pistons Alec Burks and Nerlens Noel.
Without the Pistons, Brunson may not be a Knick. They paved the way for the union by holding onto Ivey and making those two trades with the Knicks. Friday night, the Knicks and their fans will get to see what could’ve been, or they will appreciate what they have in part thanks to their opponent.
Second-year guard Quentin Grimes (sore left foot) was ruled out for Friday night’s game.