Should the Mavericks trade Jalen Brunson before the deadline?

Case against the Dallas Mavericks trading away Jalen Brunson before the deadline

The Mavs will be taking a step back in the short-term if they trade Brunson. Contending teams will be looking to give up a package of picks and young prospects to acquire the 25-year-old point guard.

Dallas looks to be taking a step forward after winning ten of their last 12 games. Do they want to trade away a key piece of their starting five when they have a top-five player in the league already on their roster? The answer is no. The Mavericks want to win now, and they are hungry to advance beyond the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 2011.

Dallas is light on shot creation and playmaking behind superstar Luka Doncic already. If they trade away Brunson, the Mavs will have to put an even larger workload on Luka’s shoulders, which is not a recipe for postseason success.

JB just keeps improving. He played his way into the backup point guard role as a rookie before rarely sharing the court with Luka in his second season. Brunson forced his way into 25 minutes per game last year, and another leap has him in the starting five and playing 30-plus minutes every night.

He is only 25 years old and has more room to grow. Adding a more consistent 3-point stroke pushes JB to another level offensively. Trading away a proven starter that keeps improving is always dangerous.

The return could be massive, so should the Dallas Mavericks trade Jalen Brunson?