In another universe, the Dallas Mavericks would be fielding a lineup of Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving , Klay Thompson, and Jalen Brunson this upcoming season.
However, Brunson is now leading the lines on the opposite side of the country, being named captain and turning the New York Knicks into an Eastern Conference powerhouse. Still, we can't help but wonder why Dallas let him go a couple of years back, just when the franchise began to find an identity in the post-Dirk Nowitzki era.
Different pages in the agreement
Drafted in the second round in 2018 as the No. 33 pick, Brunson wouldn't come in and do anything extraordinary from the get-go. He was a two-time NCAA champion at college and possessed an intriguing ceiling. But few were willing to bet he'd become the player he is today.
However, after four years with the Mavs, in an impressive playoff run in 2022, Jalen showed his worth. In the first round against the Utah Jazz, despite the Blue and White being without Luka Doncic in Games 2 and 3 due to a minor injury, Brunson helped the team to victory with 41 and 31 points, respectively, flipping the series in Dallas' favor.
That was the last year of his rookie contract, and like every star rookie, his play would demand a contract extension. However, according to Mavs owner Mark Cuban , an agreement proved harder than originally expected.
"We were like, give us a range; what's the number? We put up a number [and] they said, 'Too low,' and they were like, 'Where do we need to be? We're hoping we'd have a home-court advantage, right?'" Cuban reminisced with the Knicks guard.
"He'd been here four years. At least give us that opportunity, and then when it came down to it, and it looked like you were going to go to the Knicks, it was like the only number that's going to make it work is a max-out contract. They put you in a certain way; that wasn't the intention. It was hard to deal with. It was a unique negotiation in a lot of different ways," Mark added.
Brunson's point of view
Drafted the same year as Luka, Brunson was always a second fiddle to the Slovenian. However, the Villanova product worked his way up from a role player to a starter in the final year of his contract.
While it appeared that he had turned the page in his career and head coach Jason Kidd had found a way to form a partnership between him and Doncic, signs were pointing to the end. Although the rising star guard expressed interest in staying put, the Knicks offered him a four-year, $104 million deal, which the Mavs weren't willing to match, forcing him to go to New York as a free agent.
"Once we got the number from the Knicks, I'm going to keep saying this: from Jaylen Brunson's point of view, I didn't hear anything else from the Mavericks, and it wasn't from the Mavericks; it was my agent telling me, 'They're not giving us a number,' and so I just [left]," said the Knicks point guard.
In the end, it was the right decision, as Jalen has turned himself into one of the best point guards in the league in the last two seasons in New York. Now, after trading for Karl-Anthony Towns, the Knicks are a legit championship contender.
Related: Mark Jackson puts Jalen Brunson in the same class as James Harden, Luka Doncic, and Kyrie Irving: "Rick Brunson's son is the real deal"
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