Jalen Brunson is one of the hottest names of the NBA offseason so far. His rookie contract with the Dallas Mavericks is up, and he’ll enter unrestricted free agency on July 1st. While the Mavs will retain his Bird rights — which gives them the ability to go over the cap to re-sign him and offer him the most possible money out of any team — being unrestricted means he could elect to flee to another team, and Dallas wouldn’t be able to stop him like they would have if he had been a restricted free agent.
Brunson and the Mavs could part ways for a variety of reasons. They run that risk due to their own negligence. As ESPN’s Tim McMahon reported, they could have gotten a four-year, $55.5 million contract extension done before the season.
“Dallas could have signed Brunson to a four-year extension for as much as $55.5 million before the season, but the Mavs didn’t offer it then nor did they engage in negotiations with Brunson’s representatives. He was coming off a disappointing first playoff series of his career, as former Mavs coach Rick Carlisle drastically cut Brunson’s minutes in the final few games of the seven-game exit against the LA Clippers.”
Brunson made the Mavericks pay — he might literally this offseason — by taking a significant step in his development this past season. He increased his scoring by over three points per game, from 12.6 in 2020-21 to 16.3 in 2021-22, while retaining the same level of efficiency. Last season, he slashed 52/41/80. This past year, even with the increased responsibility and usage, he still hit marks of 50/37/84.
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He really earned his upcoming raise with his performance in the postseason. In these past playoffs, the Villanova product put up 21.6 points and 3.7 assists while shooting 47 percent from the field, 35 from beyond the arc, and 80 from the free-throw line. His emergence as a legitimate number two option alongside Luka Doncic helped guide the Mavericks to their Western Conference Finals appearance with an upset over the one-seed Phoenix Suns.
His spectacular play this last year has plenty of teams interested in bringing on his services this summer. The Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers, and New York Knicks have all been linked to Brunson. The Knicks are reportedly preparing the cap room to offer him a deal upwards of $25 million per year. The Pistons have just opened up a max slot and then some by trading away Jerami Grant to the Portland Trail Blazers.
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The question begs: how much is too much for Jalen Brunson? For the Mavericks, that answer should be a resounding “N/A.” Dallas should be prepared to outbid any of his suitors this offseason.
By trading away Kristaps Porzingis last year, the Mavericks cleverly ducked the luxury tax line, allowing them to spend without fear of the repeater tax any time soon.
Dallas’s title window should be relatively open so long as Luka Doncic is on board. After trading for controversial big man Christian Wood, the Mavericks may have opened that window open a little wider. If they let Brunson walk this summer and a team like the New York Knicks signs him without a sign-and-trade, they may be narrowing it for the foreseeable future.
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How much is too much for Jalen Brunson? The New York Knicks’ pursuit may be driving up the price, but for the Dallas Mavericks, they simply can’t afford to not to pay him — double negative intended.
