Author of a very good season in New York while his former team in Dallas might completely miss the play-in tournament, Jalen Brunson today shows all the importance he had in the success of the Mavericks last season. Mark Cuban’s franchise now regrets his departure, but the owner does not take responsibility for it.

It’s no secret that the Mavericks’ 2022-23 campaign is a bitter failure. Although they are still in the running for tenth place in the West and therefore a spot in the play-in tournament, Dallas has made a big step back compared to last season, when the Texas team had finished with 52 victories on the clock and especially a spot in the Western Conference Finals once morest future champions Golden State.

The reasons for this failure? They are numerous, but difficult not to put the departure of Jalen Brunson at the top of the list.

An unrestricted free agent last summer, Brunson left Dallas to join New York in a four-year, $104 million deal. The Mavs therefore lost it without receiving any compensation, a blow when we know that the new leader of the Knicks weighed more than 21 points and almost 4 assists on average during the big run of the Playoffs. So Dallas fans have reason to turn to franchise executives today to ask “Hey, what did you do on this file? Have you seen where this is taking us?. But according to owner Mark Cuban, the culprits are in New Yorknot in Dallas.

“It all started to go off the rails when Rick (Brunson, Jalen’s dad) got involved, when the parents took over,” Cuban said via ESPN. “We wanted to extend it, and Jalen Brunson never indicated his desire to leave. The problem was the parents. Even his agent said, at worst, we will do a sign-and-trade.”

As a reminder, Jalen Brunson’s father arrived on the Knicks staff last offseason, while the New York franchise president – Leon Rose – is also Jalen’s godfather. Strong ties therefore, which according to Mark Cuban gave Dallas no chance to keep the leader.

Jalen Brunson goes to Knicks, a team for whom Rick Brunson played and works, a team that Leon Rose runs, and Leon Rose was Rick Brunson’s agent, and Leon Rose – reportedly – is Jalen Brunson’s godfather, and Leon Rose is Sam Rose’s father, and Sam Rose is Jalen Brunson’s agent.

— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) June 30, 2022

Questioned by reporters for him to deepen his remarks, Cuban then indicated that the Mavericks never had the opportunity to extend Jalen Brunson when he was a free agent.

“We didn’t even know the offer (from the Knicks, Ed.). We never received the slightest amount. If that had been the case, I would have paid directly, but he wouldn’t have come anyway. It wasn’t a question of money. There were no negotiations.”

The Mavericks owner also indicated that the Brunson camp never considered extending to Dallas during the 2021-22 season, when the Mavs were in a position to offer him $56 million over four years. A version that differs from that of the insider ofESPN Adrian Wojnarowski, always very knowledgeable.

“Long before the Free Agency last summer, the Mavericks had two chances to sign him to a $56 million deal: before last season first, that was the max Dallas might offer and Brunson was willing to sign him, but the Mavs wouldn’t make an offer. Later in the season then, in January, Brunson would also have accepted this deal, but Dallas did not offer anything. […] Even at the trade deadline, they might have made transfers to free up cap space and offer a bigger contract to Brunson, whose value had increased.

Who to believe? Did Jalen Brunson still have his eyes on New York? Or did the Mavericks simply go through the management of this file?

We’ll let you judge, but not sure that Mark Cuban’s “justification” relieves Dallas fans today. What is certain, however, is that the departure of Jalen Brunson really weighed down the Texas team. The Mavericks, who were in a position to offer Brunson more money than any other franchise (through a five-year contract instead of four) but who would have offered 5 million less per year according to Woj (110/ 5 instead of the 104/4 proposed by New York), underestimated the importance of the point guard, whose value had skyrocketed during the Playoffs when he played the best basketball of his career alongside Luka Doncic.

How much does Mavs superstar Luka Doncic miss Jalen Brunson?

As he says with a smile “A lot.”…#MFFL pic.twitter.com/Eha5t1CcJL

— Kevin Gray Jr. (@KevinGraySports) April 4, 2023

“We miss Jalen very much. He’s an amazing guy, and a superb player.”

– Luka, looking disgusted

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Source texte : ESPN