The Mavericks would possibly remorse turning the chilly shoulder on Jalen Brunson.
The Knicks celebrity repeated on Wednesday that he not solely needed to remain in Dallas, however previous to the 2021-22 season, he tried to work out an extension with the Mavericks, however they weren’t as eager on the concept, which finally led him to signal with New York through the subsequent offseason.
It was much like the feelings Brunson expressed final March when he stated he needed to be in Dallas for the “lengthy haul,” although this time the All-Star guard went into extra element about how the Mavericks sat on their palms as he declared he was able to decide to the franchise.
“I actually did wish to keep in Dallas,” Brunson, 27, stated on the “All The Smoke” podcast with Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes. “Earlier than my fourth season in Dallas, my final season in Dallas, we attempt to prolong our contract — no matter we are able to get. Probably the most we are able to get is like 4 years and $55 million.
“And clearly we needed to try this, I needed to remain there and I assumed I might be there for a very long time. I appreciated my function there.”
Dallas nonetheless needed Brunson, who was simply rising as a starter and had not but blossomed into the All-Star he’d later turn out to be with the Knicks.
Brunson stated the staff needed to attend till across the 20-25 recreation mark of the marketing campaign to re-engage in talks.
The purpose guard thought he stepped up when Luka Doncic went down with an damage, and he posted 12 video games with a minimum of 17 factors over the primary 25 contests.
And when Brunson’s camp reached again out to the Mavericks on the level Dallas stated it will talk about issues once more, the reply was nonetheless extra of a wait-and-see concerning how he’d carry out the remainder of the season.
The Mavericks did finally supply Brunson a deal to remain in Dallas across the commerce deadline, however this time, Brunson shot down the concept as a result of he thought he’d “outgrown” that deal.
After an exciting run within the NBA playoffs that led to a loss within the Western Convention Finals to the Warriors, then-owner Mark Cuban expressed a willingness to maintain Brunson and that the staff might “pay him greater than anyone.”
“I believe he desires to remain and that’s most necessary,” Cuban stated in a Bally Sports activities Southwest interview in 2022. “I believe, once more, J-Kidd [head coach Jason Kidd] has a giant half to play in that, I believe J.B. blossomed as a participant, as a lot as anyone on the squad, you recognize, from the place he was final yr to how far he got here this yr, is a tribute to Jalen and the way exhausting he labored.”
However Brunson on this week’s podcast stated when it got here time to free company, a minimum of on his finish of issues, it was “crickets” and he personally by no means heard from Dallas.
That’s when he began to think about New York, and he finally signed a four-year, $104 million contract to hitch the Knicks.
Brunson’s story contradicts the narrative Cuban has beforehand mentioned concerning the guard’s free agent interval.
Cuban, partly, blamed Brunson’s dad, Rick, for issues going in opposition to the Mavericks.
Rick joined the Knicks as an assistant coach the identical offseason his son signed in New York.
“The place it went south was when Rick took over, when the mum or dad took over, or dad and mom took over,” Cuban stated final April.
He additionally insisted on the time that the Mavericks weren’t given the prospect to supply extra money, which Cuban stated the staff gladly would have paid.
“We didn’t know what the bid was,” Cuban added. “They by no means gave us a quantity. Figuring out the numbers now, I might’ve paid it in a heartbeat, however he wouldn’t have come anyway. There’s simply no potential means that it was about cash.”
Nevertheless it went down, Brunson has turn out to be one of many elite gamers within the NBA this season, averaging a career-high 27.6 factors en path to his first All-Star Sport.
In the long run, he was not mad about how issues turned out.
“Finest transfer,” Brunson concluded about coming to New York.