After making a run to the Western Conference Finals last season, the Dallas Mavericks are off to a rocky 10-11 start in 2022-23. Of course, the Mavericks are missing a key piece from their playoff run. As an unrestricted free agent, Jalen Brunson left Dallas for the New York Knicks and a four-year, $104 million contract.
Leading up to the start of free agency, Brunson was expected to meet with Dallas and New York. However, the point guard didn’t meet with the Mavericks and instead agreed to sign with the Knicks. New York is still under investigation for tampering, but based on the way that Brunson has been playing, potentially being docked a second-round draft pick shouldn’t be of too much concern to the front office.
More than anything, Dallas should regret not getting anything in return for Brunson. There were rumors about a possible sign-and-trade deal between the two teams, but financially it would’ve been nearly impossible to pull off. Because of that, Mark Cuban watched his 2018 second-round pick walk.
After all, it was the Mavericks that didn’t offer Brunson a four-year, $55.6 million deal before the start of the 2021-22 season. Looking back, it’s a good thing that didn’t happen for Brunson and the Knicks, but now Dallas is left trying to find help for MVP candidate Luka Doncic.
The Mavericks just lost to the Pistons without Cade Cunningham. Dallas is 10-11. Really miss Jalen Brunson badly. #knicks
— Zach Braziller (@NYPost_Brazille) December 2, 2022
Luka Doncic and Mavericks are struggling without new Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson
Jalen Brunson will face his former team for the first time in a Saturday afternoon game at Madison Square Garden. Dallas is coming off an overtime loss to the Detroit Pistons, a team that New York has beaten three times already. The Mavericks have lost four of their last five games, with their lone win coming against Steph Curry and the Warriors.
Outside of Doncic’s average of 33.6 points per game, Christian Wood (16.8), Spencer Dinwiddie (16.2), and Tim Hardaway Jr. (11.6) are averaging double-digits. Reggie Bullock, who averaged 8.6 points for Dallas last year, is in the midst of a slump and is shooting 29.9% from the field and 27.3% from three for an average of 4.9 points.
Not only are the Mavericks missing Brunson’s offensive production, namely his midrange shot, but they’re also missing his playmaking. On Tuesday, Dallas signed Kemba Walker in an effort to add another playmaker to the roster, which is one of the team’s most glaring needs. Walker’s stint with the Knicks didn’t go as planned, but hopefully, he’ll be a better fit with the Mavericks.
Of course, the Knicks aren’t without their issues. However, New York doesn’t have a megastar on the roster and wasn’t expected to be a contender. There’s still an ample amount of time for the Mavericks to turn their season around, but without Brunson’s efforts, Dallas likely won’t be able to top their playoff run from last year.
And for those who said that Jalen Brunson “wouldn’t be good” without Luka Doncic, the Knicks’ point guard has already proven that wrong. Now, it’s time for him to go out and secure a win over Dallas tomorrow afternoon on his new home court.
Pass or Pursue on 5 proposed Derrick Rose, Immanuel Quickley Knicks trades
Given the Knicks' mediocre start to the season, trade speculation has begun to fly around members of the team such as Immanuel Quickley and Derrick Rose.