Jalen Brunson is happily reunited with his Villanova teammates Josh Hart, Donte DiVincenzo, and now Mikal Bridges in New York. Brunson and the Knicks were one win away from making the Eastern Conference Finals last season.
Jalen and Josh have even started a podcast together. JB also recently signed a big extension deal with the Knicks, and he was named the 36th team captain of the legendary franchise.
Having said all that, it's safe to say that Brunson is living his best life in the Big Apple. However, according to ESPN's Tim McMahon, Rick's son could have easily ended up on the other New York team.
"The funny thing is if Brunson signs that extension with Dallas," said McMahon. "I think there is a high likelihood that he would be with the Brooklyn Nets right now. Because, listen, Mark Cuban has always been about chasing stars. And Kyrie was going to be available the next season, as he did."
Brunson says the Mavs didn't offer him an extension
Brunson began his career with the Dallas Mavericks, who drafted him 33rd overall in the 2018 NBA Draft. But after spending his first four years in the NBA in Dallas, Brunson left for the Knicks in the summer of 2022.
During a recent appearance on the All the Smoke podcast, Brunson claimed that he never wanted to leave Dallas. But after approaching the team twice to ask for a contract extension, he says he only heard ' crickets .' So when the Knicks came knocking on his door, he bit the bullet, and according to McMahon, it was the right decision for the 2024 All-NBA second-team member.
"I think that Jalen Brunson would have been moved to Brooklyn with Kyrie Irving still ended up in Dallas," added McMahon. "It's one of those things that we will never know. But Brunson obviously landed in a much better situation for himself from a basketball, life, all sorts of different perspectives."
Related: "Good things don't happen to people who cheat" - Charles Barkley predicted the Spurs would pay for tanking for Tim Duncan
Cuban admits he underestimated Brunson
McMahon's theory may sound wild at first, but he may have a point. Mark Cuban always wanted to put a second star alongside Luka Doncic. He tried and failed with Porzingis and he is doing it now with Kyrie. Brunson was already starting to play like one in his final season with the Mavs, but Mark admitted that he had failed to see Brunson's real potential .
“No idea,” Cuban’s response when asked 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.”
Brunson ending up in Brooklyn would have been an interesting scenario. However, things went well for both sides. Cuban got the star he always coveted in Irving, while Jalen is now thriving as the leader of the Knicks.
Related: Carmelo Anthony explains the meteoritic rise of Jalen Brunson in NY: "This is Broadway, I gotta perform every single night"
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