To me, all this noise is coming from Brunson's agent. There are three parties in this triangle: (i) Mavs, (ii) Knicks, and (iii) Bruson's agent.
The Mavs have no incentive to talk, as they want to keep the price low.
The Knicks have no incentive to talk. If the Knicks truly want him (and I believe they do), then they want to catch the Mavs with their pants down. They don't want to talk a big game so the Mavs are ready to counter (which the Mavs would be anyway, as they are professionals).
The only one of the three to have an incentive to talk is Brunson's agent. He (and Brunson) are the only party to gain from leaking stories saying "the Knicks are coming on strong" and "going to offer $25 million per hear" or "near max." They want to drive up his price.
He could still leave if he wants to be the alpha on a team and not behind Luka. But I'm paying no attention to the smokescreens or chaff being thrown out at the moment.
The Mavs have no incentive to talk, as they want to keep the price low.
The Knicks have no incentive to talk. If the Knicks truly want him (and I believe they do), then they want to catch the Mavs with their pants down. They don't want to talk a big game so the Mavs are ready to counter (which the Mavs would be anyway, as they are professionals).
The only one of the three to have an incentive to talk is Brunson's agent. He (and Brunson) are the only party to gain from leaking stories saying "the Knicks are coming on strong" and "going to offer $25 million per hear" or "near max." They want to drive up his price.
He could still leave if he wants to be the alpha on a team and not behind Luka. But I'm paying no attention to the smokescreens or chaff being thrown out at the moment.
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