Heading into the NBA offseason, the only hole that the Dallas Mavericks thought that they needed to fill was at the center position. They accomplished that goal, acquiring Chrisitan Wood from the Houston Rockets in a trade and signing JaVale McGee in free agency. However, they never thought that a bigger need would emerge.
Guard Jalen Brunson was an unrestricted free agent and many presumed he would return to the team. It was a unique deal, as many second-round picks normally enter restricted free agency, but his four-year deal had a non-guaranteed year at the end, not an option.
So, the Mavericks lost the ability to match any offer sheet that he signed. Despite that, Mark Cuban made comments saying that he would do whatever it took to retain him in free agency. Ultimately, there was nothing he could do as Brunson signed a deal with the New York Knicks to become their starting point guard.
Coincidentally, Brunson’s contract that enabled him to become an unrestricted free agent was negotiated by Leon Rose, the Knicks’ current president. Rose is reportedly also Jalen’s godfather and his dad, Rick Brunson, is now an assistant coach on Tom Thibodeau’s staff.
There will likely be an investigation into tampering by the Knicks, as reports surfaced before free agency that Brunson was leaning toward heading to the Big Apple. However, that kind of move wasn’t anything Brunson ever expected to make.
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While making an appearance on The Old Man & The Three podcast, Brunson revealed that he thought he would be in Dallas for a very long time, potentially for his entire career.
Plans change sometimes and for Jalen Brunson, the New York Knicks presented an opportunity, unlike anything another franchise could provide. Sure, he could have earned a starting point guard role with other organizations, but the family atmosphere that New York provided isn’t anything he could have gotten elsewhere.
Ultimately, that is part of what sealed the deal for Brunson, who agreed to a four-year, $104 million deal to become the team’s new starting point guard. While a hole was opened up in Dallas’ rotation, one was closed in New York as they have been on the search for a starting point guard for decades.
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