Jalen Brunson has finally opened up on his move from the Mavericks to the New York Knicks during free agency last year, revealing he still has love for his former team and had initially planned to stay in Dallas for a long time.Â
The 26-year-old guard only had good things to say about the basketball club that gave him a chance to shine in the NBA in an interview with Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes, despite opting to leave D-Town for the Big Apple for almost nothing last July.Â
‘I wanted that role of being with the Mavericks for the long haul of my career. I truly loved that place,’ Brunson told Haynes. ‘I can’t say anything bad about Dallas, but obviously I wish things would’ve happened differently.’Â
Entering the final year of his four-year deal with the Mavericks at the start of last season, Brunson suddenly emerged as a second scoring option for the Mavericks behind franchise player Luka Doncic in the team’s route to the Western Conference Finals. Â
He was reportedly close to agreeing to a four-year, $55.5million extension with Dallas midway through his breakout season before talks broke down, eventually allowing the process to drag itself out and for the former Villanova Wildcats player to sign elsewhere.
Knicks star guard Jalen Brunson has revealed that he originally intended to play for the Dallas Mavericks for a long time before coming to New York during last off-season’s free agency
The 26-year-old has shined at Madison Square Garden, averaging career-high in both points per game (23.8) and assists (6.2) this season
‘There were two times that I thought we had offers on the table before the season, and then around, I think December or January, they looked the other way,’ Brunson recalled, adding that Mavericks execs ‘had every right in the world to do so. I don’t blame them for making any business decisions. That’s on them.’Â Â
The two-time NCAA champion didn’t seem to hold any grudges.Â
‘At the same time, I respect them,’ Brunson said. ‘They brought me into this league and jump-started my career. Business is business. My four years in Dallas were special. When I first got drafted there, I had that mindset of seeing myself being there for a very long time.
‘My vet at the time, J.J. Barea, he taught me so much and he was there for such a long time. I wanted that role of being with the Mavericks for the long haul of my career. I truly loved that place. As I continued to get older, I got better, and I got more opportunities to showcase my game.’
Related Post
Brunson eventually ended up signing with the Knicks on a four-year, $104 million deal. He’s proven to be a crucial addition to New York’s backcourt, averaging a career-high in both points per game (23.8) and assists (6.2) this season.Â
What’s more is that the Knicks are currently fifth in the Eastern Conference with one of the most lethal offenses in the new league this season, partially due to Brunson’s leadership skills.Â
However, Dallas is feeling its former guard’s departure with real effect.
In February, the Mavericks landed former Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving in exchange for several of the team’s key role players, including Dorian Finney-Smith and Spencer Dinwiddie, just a day before the NBA trade deadline.
Meanwhile, the Mavericks are struggling to find chemistry while both Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic are starting, with the team slipping out of the West’s playoff picture
Doncic and Irving don’t seem to be complimenting each other’s game, however, and Dallas is 3-7 with both of its stars starting and 7-12 overall since the trade.
The Mavericks are now in danger of the missing the playoffs, with only eight regular-season games remaining on their calendar.
The team currently holds a 36-38 overall record and is languishing around .500, ranking as the 11th seed of the Western Conference. If the NBA ended today, Dallas wouldn’t even be in the play-in tournament — a fall from grace from the team’s journey to the Western Conference Finals last season.
And to irritate Mavericks fans even more, the Knicks own a top-10 protected pick in the 2023 NBA Draft from the Mavericks.
New York would only claim the pick if Dallas ended up in the lottery, which seems unlikely, considering that Mark Cuban’s team have the 11th-best odds to do so, per Tankathon.Â
