Dallas Mavericks rumors: Jalen Brunson agrees to deal with Knicks

The Dallas Mavericks wanted to bring back unrestricted free-agent guard Jalen Brunson, but they knew they would have to defeat the New York Knicks to make it happen. Brunson has strong ties to the Knicks with his former agent, Leon Rose, as president, and New York hiring his father as an assistant coach this summer. The Knicks have tried to acquire JB since Rose took over, and it appears they have finally made it happen.

Shams Charania reported that Brunson has agreed to a four-year deal worth $110 million to join the Knicks. The 6’1 guard was supposed to meet with the Mavericks on June 30 before making his final decision, but the team called it off as it was trending towards him signing with New York since they started opening up cap space on draft night. Brunson cannot sign his new deal until the moratorium is lifted on July 6.

Jalen Brunson’s tenure in Dallas was a massive success. He went from second-round pick to key rotation piece to the team’s second-best player. JB just kept improving his game, but it will always be overshadowed by the front office’s colossal mistakes in keeping him.

Dallas Mavericks rumors: Jalen Brunson agrees to deal with Knicks

Brunson is an unrestricted free agent because he structured his rookie deal to have a non-guaranteed fourth season instead of a team option. Dallas bet that JB would not turn into their second-most important player when signing his first contract, and it backfired.

Flash forward to January when Brunson was willing to sign a four-year deal worth $55.6 million, but the Mavericks declined because they wanted to be able to include him in a trade if a star became available. Dallas took the 0.001 percent chance that would happen over signing Brunson to a four-year deal worth about half what he will make in New York.

The Dallas Mavericks deserve all the blame for not keeping Jalen Brunson long-term. Now, he heads to the Knicks, and the Mavs have to try to replace his production. Expect Dallas to stay aggressive in making moves as they look to stay in contention, and stay tuned to The Smoking Cuban for all the latest.