Had the Dallas Mavericks handled things differently, Jalen Brunson may have never joined the New York Knicks.
Since signing with the New York Knicks in the summer of 2022, Jalen Brunson has thrived as the superstar guard of one of the NBA's most popular teams. Had Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks played their proverbial cards right, however, Brunson may have never donned a Knicks jersey at all.
During the 2021-22 season, Brunson broke out as a Mavericks starter and one of the team's best players. In the postseason, particularly, Brunson shined.
Fortunately for him, 2022 marked the year his contract with the Mavericks expired, and he was due for a big bump in pay. As a second-round draft pick in 2018, Brunson made about $6 million over the first four seasons of his NBA career.
The Mavericks could have extended Brunson before the 2022 offseason; in the summer of 2021, Brunson became eligible for a four-year, $55.5 million extension.
But Dallas opted to not extend an offer to keep Brunson long term at that time, and once the following summer arrived, it was clear Brunson had his eyes pointing toward the Knicks, who had recently hired his father Rick as an assistant coach and his former agent Leon Rose as the team's president.
Still, Rick claims in an ESPN story by Tim McMahon that Jalen was willing to sign an extension with the Mavericks if they came in with the right number.
“Yo man, I know what [Cuban is] doing,” Rick Brunson purportedly told his wife and son of a scheduled free-agent meeting between Jalen and the Mavericks. “He's going to come to New York and say, ‘Here goes a max deal.' I'm thinking the guy got money coming off his ass. So he's coming with a max deal and then going to say, ‘What you going to do?'”
Jalen Brunson, according to Rick, said he would take the max deal, which would have been $175.5 million over five years. However, the meeting never came to fruition, as the Mavericks canceled it. Soon thereafter, Jalen signed a four-year, $104 million deal with the Knicks. He has since signed a four-year, $156.5 million extension with New York, which begins next season.
Although Rick Brunson said he wanted his son to leave Dallas after perceived disrespect, he said a bigger offer from Dallas would have at least made Jalen have to think about whether he was ready to leave for New York.
“But I tell you this, this is a conversation we had: if Dallas offers the same money or more, I don't know if he leaves. Come with the money. Make it hard! You didn't. You made it easy,” Rick Brunson said.
With Brunson leading the way, the Knicks have established themselves as one of the top Eastern Conference teams. Dallas, on the other hand, has dealt with numerous injuries and has been ridiculed by fans, players, and media alike for trading Luka Doncic in February, less than a year after making it to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2011.
