Jalen Brunson’s 2022 free agency move out of the shadow of Luka Doncic in Dallas and into the spotlight of New York turned out to be the best thing for him and the New York Knicks, a team that was the No. 2 seed in the East last season and is a title contender this coming one. It all worked out for Dallas, too, who went to the NBA Finals last season with Kyrie Irving running next to Doncic.
So it was all love and good vibes when Mark Cuban — the former Mavericks owner — went on Brunson’s Roommates Podcast with Josh Hart, right? Well... mostly. Cuban did apologize, and things were civil, but Brunson called out Cuban for a jab Cuban took at Jalen’s father, Rick Brunson, about the negotiations, and things got a little tense.
Mark Cuban: "Alls well that ends well. I'm happy for you, King of NY, & I'm happy for us"
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) August 30, 2024
Jalen Brunson: "Only thing I didn't like…when Mark said 'When the parents got involved…things got messy'…that was a little jab––"
Cuban: "Wasn't really. I didn't want to go there… pic.twitter.com/B3vIqklQ88
It’s time for a lot of context.
Both Jalen and Rick Brunson said that if the Mavericks had offered a four-year, $55 million extension before or early in the 2021-22 season, or close to the start of it, Jalen would have signed it and stayed in Big. D. Cuban and Dallas decided to keep their options open. That became Brunson’s breakout year and by the time the Mavericks put the $55 million on the table it was clear Brunson was going to be worth more than that on the open market, and he was headed to free agency.
Brunson eventually signed a four-year, $110 million contract with the Knicks — which had recently hired Rick Brunson to be part of Tom Thibodeau’s staff. Dallas could have offered more, but Cuban said a year later that the negotiations “went south, when Rick took over, or the parents took over.”
Which brings us to the Roommates Podcast, where Brunson calls out Cuban for that comment and Cuban apologizes (you can decide for yourself how sincere Cuban was, I do believe he harbors no ill will toward Brunson or his father at this point). It should be noted the Knicks had to surrender a second-round pick to the league for tampering in this case (if the price of tampering to land an All-NBA point guard is a second-round pick, every GM would do it in a heartbeat).
Everyone walks away happy. Cuban sold his majority stake in the Mavericks to casino mogul Miriam Adelson and family, but he was still in the building as the Mavericks went to the NBA Finals last year. Brunson has resurrected the Knicks and this summer signed a sweetheart four-year, $156.5 million contract extension to stay in New York. The Knicks enter this season as a contender in the East, one built to take on the Celtics.
And they probably shouldn’t bring up the negotiations in future conversations.
