The Dallas Mavericks have been waiting for Jalen Brunson’s likely departure for weeks, many Athletic League sources say, and it is now thought the 25-year-old guard will sign with the New York Knicks when the free agency opens on Thursday.
As the team enters the off-season, believing that Brunson prefers to return to Dallas, it is understood that what New York has to offer – a lucrative contract, more opportunities and family ties – is an influential factor in Brunson’s upcoming decision.
It is unclear to what extent the money will affect Brunson’s decision – ESPN said Dallas would offer less money per year than the $ 100 million four-year offer New York is preparing – compared to other competing factors, such as this one. of Brunson’s father, Rick joins the Knicks coaching staff and several other close ties that Brunson has with the organization in New York. But Mavericks players and executives have realized the growing likelihood of Brunson leaving as an unrestricted free agent in recent weeks. (Last Thursday, Mark Stein had the first major report on this opportunity for the off-season.) Within the Mavericks, talks shifted from Brunson’s re-signing to replacing his products, as well as the possibility of a signing and trading deal involving Brunson, which at least it could stop Dallas from losing it for nothing.
Like Mavericks, Brunson may also have entered this off-season, believing he will return to Dallas, sources say, and it is unclear when and why those feelings have changed. If there was one awkward aspect of his last season in which Brunson otherwise enjoyed success as a second option for the Mavericks, it was the team’s decision to turn down the pre-season extension offer – and then, once again, during it. It is unclear whether Brunson would actually sign the four-year deal for $ 55.5 million, the most Dallas was entitled to offer him during the year. While Rick Brunson told ESPN in April that his son would like to sign him in January, the league had a strong belief that at that time Brunson was already playing in more lucrative territory. In any case, the extension was never formally proposed.
Brunson’s official departure from Mavericks will be seen as a blow, even if it was expected recently. When the Mavericks season ended in the Western Conference finals last month, team general manager Nico Harrison said re-signing Brunson was the team’s top priority. In the final months of the season, Dallas embraced its ability to change three playmake guards, something that fueled the team’s deeper-than-expected post-season streak. It would be surprising for the team not to repeat this approach next season, which would require a replacement for Brunson in some way.
Dallas will currently enter next season with a list that is about $ 7 million above the luxury tax threshold, making them a team that pays taxes for the first time since the 2010-11 NBA season. That was the main argument for keeping Brunson at all costs, even if it went beyond the Mavericks far beyond the taxable penalty they would currently pay if the list remained the same.
However, Dallas is expected to remain above the luxury tax threshold during the off-season with expected further moves. However, it became clear that the future they were preparing for was without Brunson.
(Photo: Kevin Jairaj / USA TODAY Sports)
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