Jalen Brunson left the shadow of Luka Doncic in Dallas during the 2022 free agency. He signed with the New York Knicks, a decision which has helped him become one of the franchise’s biggest icons already. But what if he stayed with the Dallas Mavericks? As per ESPN writer Tim MacMahon, if Brunson stuck with the Mavericks then he wouldn’t have been able to control his destiny like he did in free agency.
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MacMahon thinks that the lefty guard would have been traded to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Kyrie Irving. He reasoned on the Knicks Film School podcast that since the Mavs’ former owner Mark Cuban has always been more focused on acquiring stars, he’d have traded Brunson despite his evolving offensive skillset. Cuban would have considered Kai as an upgrade over JB.
“If Brunson signs that extension with Dallas, I think there is a high likelihood that he would be with the Brooklyn Nets right now. Mark Cuban has always been about stars. Kyrie was going to become available the next season, as he did. At the time, Mavs did it because they needed a star to replace Brunson. But I think they would have looked at that as an upgrade,” Tim MacMahon said.
The move may have worked out even better for the Mavericks. They wouldn’t have had to relinquish defensive specialist Dorian Finney-Smith and a first-round pick for Irving.
“Maybe they probably keep Dorian Finney-Smith in that case. Maybe they don’t have to give up a first-round pick,’ MacMahon added.
Then the ESPN writer admitted that Brunson made the right choice in 2022. He has attained immense on-court and off-court success and fulfillment with the Knicks, which wouldn’t have been possible with either the Nets or the Mavericks.
On the other hand, the Mavs would have let go of Brunson either way. It never serves a team well to have two ball-dominant guards with a high usage rate. The only upside to Brunson being in Dallas was the impact he had on the offensive end when Doncic was on the bench.
In any case, what actually led to JB’s decision to leave the Mavs?
Jalen Brunson originally intended to extend contract with the Mavericks
In June, Jalen Brunson opened up about his move to leave the Dallas Mavericks in a sit-down with Taylor Rooks. The Knicks guard confessed that he was willing to continue his journey with the franchise. The elite scorer was getting comfortable in his role alongside Doncic.
During his first-three seasons, a young Brunson was an effective scorer but wasn’t even close to the machine he is today. However, he remained confident in his skills.
Before the beginning of his fourth season, the guard urged the Mavs Front Office to sign him to a four-year/$55 million deal. But they asked him to prove himself at the beginning of the 2021-22 season. Brunson told Rooks,
“I wanted to stay there, I thought I would be there for a long time, and I liked my role there…But [the Mavericks] were like, ‘We want to see where we’re at by like 20, 25 games into the season.’”
He put up 16.3 points per game in November 2021, but even that wasn’t enough for the Mavericks front office to entertain his offer.
But then, during the 2022 playoffs, Brunson elevated his game to unprecedented levels. He put up 21.6 points per game, helping the Mavs reach the Western Conference Finals.
His stock rose dramatically and he knew that he could get a much bigger deal elsewhere. The All-Star guard signed a four-year/$104 million deal with the Knicks and the rest is history.
