Former Maverick Jalen Brunson went in-depth on what went down in the contract negotiations between his representation and the Mavericks during his final season in Dallas on the latest episode of the All the Smoke podcast.
The Knicks All-Star told Matt Barnes that he was ready to accept a four-year, $55 million contract extension to stay in Dallas, but the Mavericks declined before losing him in free agency.
“There was a chance. I really did want to stay in Dallas,” Brunson said. “Before my fourth season in Dallas, the last season in Dallas, we tried to extend our contract. Whatever we could get. I think the most was four years, $55 million. So we wanted to do that. I wanted to stay there. I though I’d be there for a long time. I liked my role there.
“My agent was like ‘we can get more,’ and I was like ‘I just want to be safe. This isn’t something I want to gamble on.’ There’s a period where Luka went out, and I started playing well…we went back, we were like ‘Hey, if the deal is there, we’re thinking about it. I’ll do it right now.’ Still, it was ‘No.’ it wasn’t a hard no. it was like ‘We want to see.’”
Instead, the Mavericks saw Brunson shine in the postseason against Donovan Mitchell and the Jazz before signing a four-year, $104 million deal with the Knicks, which is now considered one of the biggest bargains in the NBA since Brunson has risen to stardom.
Brunson added that the Mavericks tried to come back and agree to the deal later on, but at that point, Brunson decided to bet on himself. It worked out, to say the least.
“The deal came on the table after the trade deadline,” Brunson said. “I was like ‘No, I think I’ve outgrown that now.’ That’s how I felt.”