05-31-2022, 07:34 PM
(05-31-2022, 05:40 PM)loki Wrote: It was a possibility before the season started. There's no way to know for sure what number was in Brunson's head, but I have a hard time imagining he would have turned it down then. Even as late as January (after he had established himself as a clear-cut starter) his dad was urging him to extend. Dallas didn't offer it, preferring to keep their trade options open. In my opinion, that was incredibly dumb both in hindsight and at the time. No team was trading a star for half a year of Brunson. Even most on this site understood that was the case.
I may be misremembering, but I thought there was a max they could offer using an extension and brunson would be able to make way more on the open market (even before his playoff surge).
I think the real mistake was giving him a contract without the usual option that would allow him to be a RFA this season instead of a UFA.
At least, that's what my (often faulty) memory is telling me.