Luka Doncic Talking About Jalen Brunson Drop Off & Mavs Future

In the month of June, according to a source who spoke to The Dallas Morning News, Jalen Brunson decided to sign a four-year, $100+ million deal with the New York Knicks, creating a significant gap in the Mavericks’ starting backcourt and the team’s free-agent plans.

Brunson’s team cancelled a meeting with owner Mark Cuban, general manager Nico Harrison, deputy general manager Michael Finley, and head coach Jason Kidd in New York just before the NBA’s bargaining window opened at 5 p.m. Dallas time on Thursday.


According to the insider, the Mavericks’ contingent had prepared the team’s “best pitch” for Brunson’s comeback and, at the very least, wanted to get face-to-face explanations of his reasons for leaving.

Yes, Brunson will now receive a higher salary.  Over the next four years, the Knicks will pay him more than $25 million annually. Quite a jump from his final season of a four-year rookie deal as the No. 33 pick in 2018 when he earned $1.8 million, making him the 334th-highest-paid player.

Luka Doncic On Jalen Brunson’s Drop Off

Doncic discussed the chances of the Mavericks in their new iteration and without Brunson with Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News. Doncic stressed that while they cannot replace him, they have fresh recruits who bring something new to the squad when asked if he feels there will be a “huge drop-off” with the rising star guard gone.

Do you feel there will be a big drop-off from losing Brunson?

Doncic: “It’s always the same. I got like 340 questions about Brunson. We can’t replace him. He’s JB. You can see how much he gave us. He gave us a lot. Off the court, on the court, he was a great guy, a great teammate. But you know, we have new teammates. You’ve got to focus on what we have, not what we don’t have, and we’ve just got to focus on our team here.”

For Luka Doncic and the Mavs, this mindset is unquestionably the best. They ought to concentrate on their offseason additions in the same way that Jalen Brunson is already giving his new team, the New York Knicks, their full attention.

Even after essentially losing their second star behind the Slovenian phenomenon, Dallas is still one of the top teams in the West. They are actually a more well-rounded team now that JaVale McGee and Christian Wood have solved their frontcourt problems.

With the addition of JaVale McGee and the trade for Christian Wood, the Mavericks improved their frontcourt despite losing Jalen Brunson, who was arguably Dallas’ second-best player last season. Superstar Luka Doncic appears to be in the finest shape of his career, which is another cause for excitement. The Mavs are trying to get out to a quick start in the Western Conference, which will be a tougher, healthier division after two consecutive years of sluggish beginnings.

 

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