The Mavericks could’ve secured Jalen Brunson to a four-year, $55 million contract extension but rejected him twice in 2022. Today, the guard is leading the Knicks in their best season of the current century, he’s become an All-Star and is entering the MVP conversation.
In a recent interview on All the Smoke with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, he revealed how badly he wanted to remain in Texas. “I really did want to stay in Dallas,” the player shared.
Here’s the context: Jalen was eligible for that extension since the summer of 2021 and throughout the following 2021/22 NBA campaign, which was his fourth year with the team. The athlete later admitted that he was willing to sign the deal in two different occasions, but both times the front office rejected making the offer.
Look away Mavericks fans: Jalen Brunson confirms he asked the Mavericks for a 4-year, $55M extension.
The Mavericks rejected him twice.
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— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) February 21, 2024
“I wanted to stay there, I thought I would be there for a long time, and I liked my role there,” said the 27-year-old. “It’s funny because my agent was like, ‘You can do so much, you can get more, you can get more.’ I’m saying, ‘Well, I want to be safe. I’m not trying to gamble right now. This is not something you really gamble with if it’s out there.’”
However, the Dallas organization wasn’t on the same page. “But [the Mavericks] were like, ‘We want to see where we’re at by like 20, 25 games into the season.’ We were like, ‘All right, well, if you’re not going to do it, I kind of don’t want to do it until after the season. I’m not trying to think about this [during the season],’” Jalen expressed.
Brunson even recalled how he was starting to partner up with former teammate Luka Doncic and improving their game together, and this was the moment when he and his father Rick decided to propose the extension one more time.
“So there was a period where Luka [Doncic] went out and I started to start,” the guard said. “I was playing really well, I think I was averaging like 20 and like six, maybe, whatever. It was about that 20-, 25-[game] mark. And so we went back, we’re like, ‘Hey, if the deal is there, we’re thinking about it.’ Like, ‘I’ll do it, like right now.’ Still, it was no. It wasn’t a hard no — it was just like, ‘We want to see, we want to see.’”
The Mavericks eventually put the deal on the table, but Brunson revealed that it was too late and he rather leave
As the trade deadline was approaching, the 27-year-old revealed that he was convinced he would get transferred out of Texas. He eventually wasn’t, and weeks later the Mavs front office finally offered him the contract extension, but the player felt it was too late.
“I was like, ‘No, I think I’ve outgrown that now,’” Brunson confessed after months of trying to convince that team he was worthy of this deal. “Personally, that’s what I thought.”
The Dallas squad entered the 2022 playoffs and Jalen led the charge as his co-star Doncic was injured. In the first round, they defeated the Utah Jazz including a 41-point performance by Brunson, and then went on to beat the No. 1-seeded Phoenix Suns.
When the season ended after losing to the Golden State Warriors, club owner Mark Cuban told the press: “We can pay him more than anybody. And I think he wants to stay, and that’s more important.”
The player saw the interview and thought it was time to leave. “So he says that in an interview, whatever, like literally right after the game,” he said in the podcast. “So I’m thinking, ‘OK.’ After that, it was just like crickets. From my point of view — I can’t speak to anyone else or my agent’s — from my point of view, it was crickets.”
