It’s not a secret that the New York Knicks are going to go after Jalen Brunson in free agency, but they’ll have more competition than Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks.
With 24 hours left until the start of free agency, Yahoo! Sports’ Chris Haynes reported that Brunson “is scheduled to meet with a few teams, headlined by the New York Knicks and the Dallas Mavericks.” We all expected that, but there’s another known team that he’s set to meet with.
Who is that third team? The Miami Heat. You didn’t think that Pat Riley wouldn’t find a way to be involved, did you?
Miami was one win away from the NBA Finals this past season, while Dallas fell 4-1 to Golden State in the Western Conference Finals. Out of the three teams that Brunson’s reportedly going to meet with, New York’s the lone one to not make the postseason in 2022.
Free agent guard Jalen Brunson is granting meetings to Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks and dark horse Miami Heat on first day of free agency, league sources tell @YahooSports: https://t.co/Y76tUOsdLk
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) June 29, 2022
The Heat are going to meet with Knicks free agent target Jalen Brunson
As Haynes reported, the Heat would have to acquire Brunson via a sign-and-trade. Meanwhile, the Mavericks are hoping that even after the moves that the Knicks have made, the guard will want to return to Dallas.
On Tuesday, Haynes said that New York is expected to offer Brunson a deal in the realm of four years, $110 million. Here’s what he had to say about what the Mavericks would need to offer him to possibly lure him away from signing with the Knicks:
"It would likely take somewhere close to a five-year, $125 million commitment from the Mavericks to prevent Brunson from signing with the Knicks, sources said."
With all of that being said, it’s hard to envision a situation where Brunson would choose to sign with Miami over New York or Dallas. But at the same time, until he makes his decision, you can’t count the Heat out. However, Miami hasn’t shown a willingness to move on from point guard Kyle Lowry, who has two years left on his contract.
The free agency period is supposed to spike your nerves. And because of the reputation that the Knicks have with landing free agents, it’s impossible to relax.
This is the part where I’d say that fans need to sit back and wait to see what happens, but instead, it’d be best to do tasks that will occupy your minds. Try not to think about Brunson every waking minute for the next 22 hours, okay?
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