04-25-2022, 09:22 AM
Quote:"We've got to figure out if Dallas wants him. Not words," Rick Brunson says. "Ain't no discount. So don't put it on us. Don't tell me you love me. Show me."
Quote: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.
Quote:Nor were the Mavs willing to make that commitment midseason, when Brunson had transitioned from sixth man to starter and was thriving. An extension would have handcuffed the Mavs from including Brunson if a trade for a star materialized. Dallas offered the extension immediately after the Feb. 10 trade deadline, when Mavs forward Dorian Finney-Smith signed an identical deal.
"I told him once the season is started, that's it," Rick Brunson says. "I told the Mavericks, 'Once the season is started, there's no contract talk,' and I went back against my word. In January, I thought he did enough where he deserved [the extension]. I said, 'Hey, take the money, man.' He wants security. He wants to live here. And they declined.
"He didn't turn s--- down. Y'all declined first. When y'all came back to him, we said, 'Hey, we just want to finish out the season and go from there.'"
Quote:NBA pro personnel scouts and executives polled by ESPN for this story anticipate that the floor for Brunson's next contract will be an average annual salary of $20 million. The high end of the estimates range around $25 million per year.
Quote:"I've been with these guys for four years and I've loved every second of it," Brunson says, mentioning the close friendships he has developed with draft classmate Doncic and other teammates. "That family atmosphere is something that I love."
Quote:The Mavs coveted guard Tyrese Haliburton in that draft and aggressively tried to trade up for him, offering a package of Brunson and the 18th and 31st overall picks, league sources told ESPN.
Quote:"My point is, there are times when you have to make very difficult decisions," Rick Brunson says. "I've made it very clear to Leon, 'I love you to death. Your son works for Jalen, represents Jalen, but this is about Jalen.' The one thing about Leon is he knows that. He raised Jalen that way, too.
"It's about what's best for Jalen. Leon wouldn't never talk to me again. The question I have, is it a good fit in New York? We don't know, because we have to sit down and figure it out [and evaluate the] draft. July 1 is a long way away."