The Mavericks may regret giving Jalen Brunson the cold shoulder.
The Knicks superstar reiterated Wednesday that not only did he want to remain in Dallas, but he also tried to seek a contract extension with the Mavericks before the 2021-22 season, but the Mavericks weren’t too keen on the idea, saying he ultimately That’s what happened. He is scheduled to sign with New York during the next offseason.
It was a sentiment similar to the one Brunson expressed last March when he said he wanted to stay in Dallas “for the long haul,” but now the All-Star guard has expressed how reluctant the Mavericks were when Brunson declared He explained in more detail what he had done. I was ready to commit to the franchise.
“I really wanted to stay in Dallas,” Brunson, 27, said on the “All the Smoke” podcast with Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes. “Before his fourth season in Dallas, his last season in Dallas, we are looking to extend his contract. Anything we can. The most we can get him is 4 year and he is worth $55 million.
“And obviously we wanted to do it and I wanted to stay there and I knew I would be there for a long time. I loved my role there.”
Dallas still wanted Brunson, but Brunson was just emerging as a starter and had yet to blossom into what would later become an All-Star with the Knicks.
Brunson said the team wants to wait until around 20-25 on the season to resume negotiations.
The point guard figured he stepped up when Luka Doncic went down with an injury, scoring at least 17 points in 12 of his first 25 games.
And while Brunson’s camp reached out to the Mavericks at a point when Dallas said they would talk again, the answer was still to wait and see how he plays the rest of the season.
The Mavericks ultimately offered Brunson a contract to remain in Dallas near the trade deadline, but this time they rejected the idea because they believed Brunson would “outgrow” that contract.
After a thrilling run in the NBA playoffs but a loss to the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals, then-owner Mark Cuban announced his intention to keep Brunson, saying the team would “pay him more than anyone else.” can be paid.”
“I think he wants to stay and that’s the most important thing,” Cuban said in a 2022 interview with Bally Sports Southwest. [head coach Jason Kidd] JB has a big role to play in that. I think JB has blossomed as a player, just like the other players on the team. From where we were last year to where we are this year, this is a tribute to Jalen and how much effort he put in. He worked. “
But Brunson said on his podcast this week that when it comes to free agency, at least in his final stages, it’s a “cricket” and that he personally hasn’t heard back from Dallas.
From then on, he began considering a move to New York and ultimately signed a four-year, $104 million contract with the Knicks.
Brunson’s story contradicts what Cuban previously told about the guard’s free agency period.
Cuban partially blamed Brunson’s father, Rick, for things going against the Mavericks.
Rick joined the Knicks as an assistant coach in the same offseason that his son signed with New York.
“Where things got worse is when Rick took over, when his parents took over, or when his parents took over,” Cuban said last April.
He also claimed that the Mavericks were not given the opportunity to offer more money at the time, but Cuban said the team would have been willing to pay that amount.
“I didn’t know what the bid was,” Cuban added. “They never gave us the number. If I knew the number now, I would have paid the money right away, but he wouldn’t have come anyway. It’s possible it’s about the money. There’s no sex at all.”
Regardless of the outcome, Brunson became one of the NBA’s elite players this season, averaging a career-high 27.6 points heading into his first All-Star Game.
After all, he wasn’t mad about how things turned out.
Branson concluded that coming to New York was “the best thing to do.”
