Mavericks are expected to lose Star Guard during free agency

Ads

Getty Jalen Brunson of the Dallas Mavericks.

As the Dallas Mavericks head into an important offseason, all eyes are on point guard Jalen Brunson. The guard will be an unrestricted free agent this summer and while he was originally rumored to be returning to Dallas, that’s no longer a sure thing.

There are a few teams in the league looking to take on Brunson, with the most commonly cited team being the New York Knicks. Brunson has some ties to the Knicks, but more importantly, they’ll likely pay him a lot of money.

In a recent article, Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz detailed his wildest predictions for the NBA offseason. One of them was that Brunson will leave the Mavericks to join the Knicks. His main argument for the potential move (out of the money) is that New York would hand Brunson the keys.

“Without a franchise point guard on the roster, the Knicks will now go all in for Brunson, even if it means cashing in extra salary,” Swartz wrote. “While it is true that the 25-year-old could make more money and sign for a fifth year with the Dallas Mavericks, he will never be the primary ball carrier with Luka Doncic. Although RJ Barrett and Julius Randle will play their part in making the game, it could be Brunson’s offense, especially with his father Rick now working as Tom Thibodeau’s assistant coach.

New York has already taken some cap-clearing moves in the NBA draft, and it looks like they’re preparing to offer Brunson a massive deal.

Possible Knicks offer for Brunson

In a recent episode of his Please Don’t Aggregate This podcast, Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer noted that the Knicks could offer Brunson a deal worth over $100 million this summer and that they might not stop there.

“The Knicks bid will almost certainly be four (years) $100 (million). And at least I know people around the week preparing for his bid to end up being $110[million]dollars,” Fischer said.

New York traded Kemba Walker to the Detroit Pistons during the draft for a pay cut. It is also thought that they could forgo some players to move this thing forward and Cam Reddish could be available in trade talks for the same reason.

Dallas can still offer him more money than the Knicks, though. Not only can you give him a five-year deal (while other teams in the league can only offer him four), you can also give him a few million more per season.

However, there have been reports that Dallas may not be ready to do so and that they may be deterred by the Knicks’ aggressive offer.

Mavericks could “wink” at Brunson’s prize.

On June 13, Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus reported that the Mavericks may hesitate to match the Knicks’ bid for Brunson if it exceeds a certain number.

“Although New York won’t have enough cap room, multiple sources believe Dallas may blink at Brunson’s asking price, forced to sign him and sell him to the Knicks,” Pincus reported.

Losing Brunson would be a huge blow to Dallas as he was a crucial part of their run to the Western Conference Finals last year. But at this point, all they can do is wait for free agency to officially open and try to convince Brunson to stay.

More heavy on Mavericks News

More stories are loading

Ads

–