Jalen Brunson is a player that lets his work on the court do the talking, so it was no surprise that when the New York Knicks star was asked about the Mavericks’ poor season, he didn’t elaborate.
It’s been said many times, but Dallas has to regret not re-signing Brunson to a four-year, $55 million contract. It works out for Brunson and the Knicks that he wasn’t offered that deal. He signed a contract nearly double that with New York and has thrived as the team’s starting point guard.
Meanwhile, the Mavericks will be lucky to make the play-in tournament. With three games left to play, Dallas is currently the No. 11 team in the West. The Mavericks made a huge push by trading for Kyrie Irving ahead of the deadline so that another star could finally play alongside Luka Doncic, but that experiment hasn’t worked out. To make matters worse, Irving will be an unrestricted free agent and he could walk during the offseason as Brunson did.
Dallas is in a bad place. After making it to the Western Conference Finals last year, it’d be embarrassing for the Mavericks to miss the play-in altogether this year. When asked if he’s surprised about how Dallas’ season has played out, Brunson said that he was and left it at that.
Jalen Brunson is asked if he's surprised at how things have gone for the Mavericks this season:
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) April 4, 2023
"I am surprised. I honestly have no comment about that, but it's definitely surprising." pic.twitter.com/gTTZvBz7pM
Knicks’ Jalen Brunson says that he’s surprised by the Mavericks’ poor season
Jalen Brunson has 104 reasons to throw shade at the Mavericks, but again, he isn’t that type of player. He’s in a better position, so what good would it do to take a shot at Dallas?
He recently confirmed in an interview with Bleacher Report that he would’ve re-signed with the Mavericks if the front office would’ve offered him the four-year contract. He also said that he thought that he was going to be in Dallas long-term, but he didn’t speak one ill word about the organization.
Nor has Brunson clapped back at those that said that the Knicks were overpaying him when he signed a four-year, $104 million contract in free agency. Now, the contract looks far more like an underpay based on his production. He’s averaging a career-high 24 points, a career-high 6.2 assists, and is shooting a career-high 41.6% from three. And unlike the Mavericks, Brunson and the Knicks have already clinched a playoff berth.
A year ago, most people would’ve agreed that Dallas had a better long-term future than New York. Oh, how fast things can change. One thing’s for certain, there are a lot of people that won’t doubt Jalen Brunson again.
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