Dallas Mavericks did not offer Jalen Brunson an extension until it was too late

The Dallas Mavericks are locked in tight playoff series against the Utah Jazz. They won two of the first three games without superstar Luka Doncic, but the Jazz punched back to even the series in Game 4. Jalen Brunson continued his breakout fourth NBA season by producing two monster performances, including dropping 41 points in Game 2. JB is an unrestricted free agent this summer, and his postseason showing has only increased his price on the open market.

The Mavs have nobody to blame but themselves if Brunson signs elsewhere this summer. They allowed the second round pick to sign a rookie contract that did not include a team option in the fourth year, which makes him an unrestricted free agent instead of a restricted one. That may not have been their biggest blunder when it came to negotiating deals with Brunson, though.

ESPN’s Tim MacMahon did a feature on Brunson about how his playoff performance is impacting his free agency. It featured plenty of juicy JB details, including another blunder by the Mavs in negotiating his extension.

Dallas Mavericks did not offer Jalen Brunson an extension until it was too late

The Mavs could offer Brunson a four-year contract extension worth $55.5 million this season, but MacMahon reported the team did not off him the deal during training camp. Jalen’s father, Rick, who was a nine-year NBA veteran, said they approached Dallas about the extension in January, but the Mavericks turned it down.

The organization was only comfortable offering the contract after the trade deadline because they wanted to maintain flexibility in case a deal for another star player emerged. Following the Feb. 10 deadline, the Mavericks offered Brunson the max extension around the same time Dorian Finney-Smith signed his, but it was too late. JB had played too well, and his market value had risen above the max extension number.

MacMahon reported Brunson is expected to command between $20-25 million per season in free agency. Those numbers will push Dallas deep into the luxury tax with Luka Doncic’s supermax extension kicking in next season.

Will owner Mark Cuban be willing to pay JB too? Jalen Brunson is the biggest story of the Dallas Mavericks offseason. If they fail to re-sign the 6’1 guard, the team is limited in how they can replace his production. Expect plenty of Brunson rumors as free agency approaches, and fans will be watching closely until a deal is done.