New York Knicks trade Nerlens Noel, Alec Burks to Detroit Pistons, clear cap space for Jalen Brunson pursuit

The New York Knicks traded center Nerlens Noel and guard Alec Burks to the Detroit Pistons — clearing $19 million in additional salary-cap space — and they are now able to make an overwhelming contract offer in the neighborhood of $110 million to free-agent guard Jalen Brunson, sources told ESPN.

The Knicks included two future second-round picks and $6 million to incentivize the trade, sources said, and they now have approximately $30 million in cap space to make a massive four-year offer to Brunson. The offloading of players and assets to create the space clearly reflects the Knicks’ confidence they can reach an agreement with Brunson sometime after the opening of free agency.

Brunson, 25, is coming off a breakout season in which he averaged 16.3 points and 4.8 assists, establishing himself as the Dallas Mavericks’ No. 2 option behind All-NBA guard Luka Doncic, his 2018 draft classmate, after joining the starting lineup on a full-time basis in December.

Brunson helped lead the Mavericks to the Western Conference finals for the first time in 11 years, averaging 21.6 points during the playoffs, highlighted by 41- and 31-point performances in first-round victories over the Utah Jazz while Doncic was sidelined by a strained calf.

Mavs governor Mark Cuban and general manager Nico Harrison ranked Brunson as the franchise’s top offseason priority in the wake of the playoff run. Sources said the Mavs are willing to give Brunson a five-year contract — which only Dallas can offer due to owning his Bird rights — that is comparable to the four-year, $85 million deal that guard Fred VanVleet signed with the Toronto Raptors in 2020.

Brunson, an unrestricted free agent because the fourth season of his rookie deal was…