NY Knicks All-Star Jalen Brunson talks candidly about his chaotic exit from Dallas

The Dallas Mavericks squandered the opportunity to re-sign Jalen Brunson for what would have been incredible value during his breakout final season with the franchise, as is well known to the public, due to their own mistakes. Brunson is now disclosing how terribly the Mavericks mishandled those conversations, two years after they occurred.

In an appearance on “All The Smoke,” Brunson detailed the timeline of talks with the Mavericks during the 2021-22 season. Brunson had been eligible for a four-year, $55.5 million extension at the start of the campaign, and openly admitted that he would have taken it during the first half of the season, even as his agent was advising him that he could get more by testing the market.

By his retelling, however, the Mavericks balked, even after Brunson got time in the starting lineup and took advantage of it.

“We wanted to do that. I wanted to stay there. I thought I would be there for a long time,” Brunson said. “They were like, ‘We want to see where we’re at 20, 25 games into the season.’ We were like, alright, if we’re not going to do it, I kind of don’t to do it until after the season. I’m not trying to think about this.

“There was a period when Luka (Doncic) went out and I started to start. I was playing really well. It was about that 20-25 mark. So we went back and were like, hey, if the deal is there, we’re thinking about it. I’ll do it right now. Still, it was no. It wasn’t a hard no, it was like, ‘We want to see.‘”

Brunson admitted that he thought he would get traded at that year’s deadline, as he was playing well but the Mavericks were still refusing to extend him. That did not happen, and the guard was surprised when the Mavericks finally extended the offer he had wanted only after the deadline.

“The deal came on the table after the trade deadline. I was like, ‘No, I think I’ve outgrown that now,’” Brunson said.

Brunson added that owner Mark Cuban had publicly said at the end of the season that the Mavericks could offer him more money than anyone else, but after that, he only heard “crickets” from Dallas. That led him to land with the New York Knicks on a four-year, $104 million deal.

Although Brunson has previously related this tale, this is the most specific account he has provided. He claims the Mavericks had two opportunities to sign him to a long-term contract for around half of what he signed for. Both times, they took their time, and by the time they were ready, Brunson had taken advantage of their offer.

The Mavericks, at 32-23, are putting up a fight, but they are eighth in a strong Western Conference. They had to make some significant trades to acquire Kyrie Irving, which cost them numerous valuable role players, in order to make up for Brunson’s departure.

While all was going on, Brunson developed into an All-Star with the Knicks, where he is currently averaging 27.6 points per game.