Jalen Brunson went under the radar in his draft class. Questions about his physical limitations were raised despite being a two-time national champion. After all, he wasn’t an explosive athlete, and scouts were unsure whether his game could translate to the pros. They were wrong, including the man who gave the go-signal to draft Brunson 33rd overall, Mark Cuban .
The multi billionaire appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and admitted they misjudged the situation surrounding the 2024 NBA All-Star.
“No idea,” Cuban’s ready response if he knew Brunson would be an All-NBA phenomenon. “I mean, he was talented, but he was picked in the second round. If everybody knew, he would’ve been a top-5 pick. If you redraft that draft, other than Luka (Doncic), he is a top three or five pick.”
The 2018 class produced five All-Stars, and Jalen is one of them. If there was a redraft, Brunson would be in the mix behind Doncic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who has been in the MVP conversations in the past couple of years. Trae Young and Jaren Jackson, Jr. are the other two.
Coming Out Party
Even though the Mavericks dropped the ball hard by not resigning Brunson to an extension, the current New York Knicks point guard introduced himself as a big-time shotmaker in a Dallas uniform.
The Villanova product was Doncic’s primary help in the team’s run to the 2022 Western Conference Finals. He dropped a playoff career-high 41 points in the first round against the Utah Jazz and was instrumental in the Game 7 win over the Phoenix Suns in the second round. Brunson scored 24 points and dished out six assists in a blowout win that propelled Dallas to the Conference Finals.
In For the Long Haul
Brunson made headlines when he passed up over $100 million by signing a contract extension early with the Knicks. So, instead of a $269 million deal he could’ve had by waiting a year, the 2024 All-NBA Second Team member “settled” for $156.5 million.
Stewart managed to talk briefly about the discount extension, but Cuban apparently did not want any part of it. “Let’s talk politics,” the Shark Tank investor quipped.
As crazy as leaving nine figures off the table, Brunson had his reasons. The lefty guard explained he wanted financial security right away and did not want to gamble his future. What’s more intriguing is that Brunson loved the situation in the Big Apple and thinks the squad can do something special with the pieces they have.
With every superstar wanting as much dough as they can get nowadays, the newly-minted Knicks captain was a breath of fresh air. With Jalen Brunson settling for less, he just proved he is worth more.
Related: “Winning trumps everything that I do individually” - Jalen Brunson explains why he took a $100M pay cut
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