BRUNSON BURNER: to NYK for 4yrs/$104M (no SnT) | NYK docked 2025 2nd for tampering

[Scott41theMavs]

This one isn't on someone tampering, it's on the Mavs 100%. The FACT that the Mavs told Brunson or his people they didn't want to commit to an extension until AFTER the trade deadline -- the obvious reason being they needed to be able to shop him with a small contract -- left no mystery they were viewing him as a "trade asset" rather than as an integral part of the team's future.

In the Mavs' defense, they weren't wrong to not see him as part of the longterm plans. A Luka-Brunson backcourt was never going to win a championship. But they needed him as an asset. Their biggest screw-up was not signing him to the extension early. They didn't trust Donnie's scouting, what they had already seen from Brunson, and moreover misjudged the market.

I guess the upside is that I'm no longer mad at Brunson at all. He got his Brinks truck. More power to him. If the Knicks deceived him by making him believe that he was going to be the alpha when they clearly don't believe that (see DM pursuit), he can cry all the way to the bank.