4 former Dallas Mavericks thriving elsewhere, 4 struggling this season

7. Thriving: Jalen Brunson

Most everyone's favorite former Dallas Maverick Jalen Brunson continues to light up Madison Square Garden for the New York Knicks.

Brunson is averaging 24.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 0.8 steals per game while shooting 43.7 percent from the field and 47.7 percent from three. These are outstanding shooting numbers, and Brunson has become the leader of the Knicks.

Everything goes through him, and his ability to lead, facilitate, and score has helped the Knicks turn their overall trajectory around. They never had a solid point guard before that, and Brunson has filled that hole better than they could have dreamed.

He has already outplayed his four-year, $104 million deal, and Dallas is likely regretting not giving him the contract extension during the middle of 2021-22 season. Regardless of the speculation and rumors that surrounded Brunson's free agency, Dallas would have loved it if they extended him if they knew how good that he would be.

He took his game to the next level at the perfect time, and he was rewarded for it.

During the 2022 NBA Playoffs, Brunson averaged 21.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 0.8 steals per game while shooting 46.6 percent from the field.

Brunson has been excellent in the playoffs over the past two seasons, and the Knicks are in prime position to make the playoffs again with JB at the healm.