Mavericks fans may want to ignore Jalen Brunson's latest tea.
The Knicks' point guard has developed into one of the best players at his position, which is a big reason why New York is considered an Eastern Conference contender. Brunson, in his second year with the team, averaged a career-high 27.6 points per game and was selected to his first All-Star Game.
However, in an alternate universe, there is also a scenario in which Brunson does not leave Dallas when he becomes a free agent in 2022. The former Mavericks guard recently appeared on Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes' “All the Smoke” podcast and revealed what was going on behind the scenes in Dallas before his departure.
Brunson and his camp went to the Mavericks not once but twice to sign a four-year, $55 million contract, Brunson said. According to the All-Star guard, the Mavs' front office balked in both cases, ultimately leading Brunson to leave the franchise in free agency and sign with the Knicks.
.@jalenbrunson1 More about his final season in Dallas. He was ready to sign a 4-year, $55 million contract, but the Mavs front office balked 😳
All episodes of All The Smoke with JB will be available on YouTube tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/whxbOrez0w
— All the Smoke Productions (@allthesmokeprod) February 21, 2024
“I really wanted to stay in Dallas,” Brunson told Barnes and Jackson. “Before my last season in Dallas, we tried to extend my contract. The most I could get was four years, $55 million. I obviously wanted to do that and I wanted to stay there. I thought I would be there for a long time. ”
Brunson explained that the Mavericks were reluctant to sign him to a contract extension because the team “wanted to see where we were.”
When Mavericks star Luka Doncic missed several games with an injury, Brunson stepped up to the starting guard role and thrived. So his camp once again discussed an extension with the front office, but once again received the same response.
“We came back and said, 'Hey, if we can get a deal done, we're looking at it. Let's do it right away,'” Brunson said. “Still, it was no. It wasn't a strong no, it was 'I want to see it.'”
At that point, Gard said he was about a quarter of the way through the season and if a deal wasn't done at that point, he wanted to wait until the season was over so he could focus on basketball.
More: NBA player Kaitlyn Clark explains why she reminds her of Luka Doncic
With no extension in place, Brunson thought a trade might be considered. But that wasn't the case as Brunson stayed with the Mavericks and helped them reach the Western Conference Finals.
After the Mavericks lost to the Warriors in the conference championship series, Brunson said Dallas owner Mark Cuban appeared on television and said the team could offer Brunson “maximum money.” But despite Cuban's words, Brunson said he heard “crickets” from Dallas' front office.
Then along came the Knicks. Brunson said he saw the team “on the move” and considered how close it was to his home state of New Jersey, which made it even more appealing.
“It was close to home, an hour away from where I was born,” Branson said. “My parents live on the East Coast, my whole family lives on the East Coast, so I started thinking, 'This could be real.'
“Then, here we are.”
More: NBA regular season finale predictions
As the saying goes, “One man's trash is another man's treasure.” No one would be more grateful than the Knicks that the Mavericks chose to hold him back and didn't jump at the chance to sign Brunson while they could.
Signs Jalen Brunson
Brunson wanted to sign a four-year, $55 million extension with the Mavericks, but ended up getting much more from the Knicks.
The guard will sign a four-year, $104 million contract with New York in free agency in 2022, with a player option in the final year of the contract. The total value of this contract is slightly less than twice that of his contract in Dallas.
He is scheduled to become a free agent in 2026.
| season | salary |
| 2022-23 | $27,733,332 |
| 2023-24 | $26,346,666 |
| 2024-25 | $24,960,001 |
| 2025-26 | 24,960,001 |
