Craig Carton Says the Knicks Championship Has Made Him a BETTER PERSON!

**Craig Carton** (0:01)
I've always said Ed Sheeran.

**Chris McMonigle** (0:02)
No.

**Craig Carton** (0:03)
Greatest artist alive.

**Chris McMonigle** (0:04)
No, it's not Ed Sheeran.

**SPEAKER_3** (0:06)
Huh?

**Chris McMonigle** (0:06)
It's Kings of Leon.

**Craig Carton** (0:08)
My band could call on that. 888-808.
People go crazy right now.

**Chris McMonigle** (0:14)
Everyone knows that's Kings of Leon.

**Craig Carton** (0:16)
What a night, I'm scared.

**SPEAKER_3** (0:18)
You know what I have to say?

**Chris McMonigle** (0:21)
I don't know why that band popped in my head.

**Craig Carton** (0:22)
It doesn't matter. As long as it wasn't Maroon 5, you'll get it.

**SPEAKER_3** (0:25)
Exactly right.

**Chris McMonigle** (0:26)
You know how many people, I forget, I even have buddies the other day, I forget which song it was, but it was Pantera and you said Metallica. And I had like four buddies like, it's Pantera.

**Craig Carton** (0:36)
People eventually one day, that bit will get old and be like, all right, we all get it now. So I've been 35 years and they still don't get it.

**Chris McMonigle** (0:44)
I didn't want it to necessarily hijack the interview, but the story he told that Rick Brunson, while playing in Australia, found out that his wife gave birth to a baby boy named Jalen Brunson, from his agent, Leon Rose, is insane.

**Craig Carton** (1:05)
Yeah, it is. It's a full circle moment, right?

**Chris McMonigle** (1:07)
Think of that connection.

**Craig Carton** (1:09)
And Leon Rose's son is now Jalen's agent. Leon used to be, and he loved CAA to take the Nick job.

**Chris McMonigle** (1:17)
And Rick Brunson was his first client.

**Craig Carton** (1:21)
Which is why he obviously either saw something no one else did or just had a belief in Jalen that wasn't based on what we had seen, but he just knew. Yeah. And those are the stories that need to be told?

**Chris McMonigle** (1:33)
Yeah, he tells Rick Brunson, you have a baby boy, congratulations. I know you can't leave because you can't afford to.

**Craig Carton** (1:40)
Right, you need to get paid.

**Chris McMonigle** (1:41)
You need to get paid to provide for that child.

**Craig Carton** (1:42)
Which by the way, is a great way to handle American athletes. You don't get your money till the season's over and you play.

**Chris McMonigle** (1:50)
Right.

**Craig Carton** (1:50)
We should do that here.
Hey, you want the $50 million bucks? 65 games is my ass. You need to play 80 games.

**Chris McMonigle** (1:57)
Well, I'm sure, I don't know if injuries are counted.

**Craig Carton** (1:59)
Outside of the real injuries that an independent doctor says is real.

**Chris McMonigle** (2:03)
He just couldn't leave. He couldn't leave Australia and take time off to go be with his wife.

**Craig Carton** (2:07)
I never heard that story before.

**Chris McMonigle** (2:08)
Never heard that story.

**Craig Carton** (2:08)
I knew Jim, I knew Rose, they represented him, but I did not know that story.

**Chris McMonigle** (2:12)
The beginnings of both of their careers. Super agent, he becomes a super agent. Rick Brunson of all people is his first client. He has the honor to say, hey look, I know you're in Australia, congratulations, your wife just gave birth to a baby boy. That baby boy ends up becoming a free agent signing of Leon Rose when he runs the Knicks and he becomes the MVP of the NBA final.

**Craig Carton** (2:28)
What do you think the negotiation is like between Leon Rose and his son, who now represents Jalen Brunson?

**Chris McMonigle** (2:33)
That's a good point.

**Craig Carton** (2:34)
Meaning he has to negotiate against his dad.

**Chris McMonigle** (2:36)
Yeah.

**Craig Carton** (2:36)
Do you think it's like, this is what we're paying you guys? Yeah.
Sign. Do you think that's why Jalen also took less?

**Chris McMonigle** (2:44)
Yeah, I mean, but we.

**Craig Carton** (2:45)
Probably.

**Chris McMonigle** (2:45)
Yeah, oh no.

**Craig Carton** (2:46)
Right?

**Chris McMonigle** (2:47)
Part of it, he wanted to win.

**Craig Carton** (2:48)
Yeah, but also the personal relationship.

**Chris McMonigle** (2:50)
It helps. It certainly helps. But now, but the NBA is kind of easy with the way everything. There's a certain amount of money he can make.

**Craig Carton** (2:56)
Yes.

**Chris McMonigle** (2:57)
So it's going to be whatever the most he can make. Yeah. That's what he will make.

**Craig Carton** (3:00)
Hundred percent right.

**Chris McMonigle** (3:00)
And absolutely well deserved. Not a single Nick fan on this planet will have a problem with him making every penny he can make.

**Craig Carton** (3:06)
It would really be interesting is, how many other GMs go out to their star player and say, look, why don't you do for us what Brunson did for the next? You want to win or not?