Jalen Brunson made some of the biggest waves on the opening day of free agency when his move to the New York Knicks was confirmed. Brunson shunned the Dallas Mavericks in favor of a $104 million, four-year deal with the Knicks, thereby ending his four-year tenure with the Mavs.
As it turns out, however, Brunson never wanted to leave in the first place. Speaking on a recent episode of JJ Redick's The Old Man & the Three podcast, the 25-year-old confessed that initially, his heart was set on staying with the Mavs for the long haul (h/t Mike Santa Barbara of Yardbarker):
“I loved my time in Dallas. I wanted to be in Dallas. I thought I was going to be in Dallas for a long time,” Brunson said. ” I went to them before they officially offered it to me, and by the end, it was kind of too late.”
Based on Brunson's story here, he gave the Mavs every opportunity to make him an offer before he accepted what the Knicks had on the table. This somewhat contradicts reports stating that the 6-foot-1 combo guard canceled a last-minute meeting with Dallas before signing with New York. Then again, this sit-down was set right before free agency officially opened, so perhaps this was what Brunson meant when he said it was “too late.”
You also have to note that the Mavs had the option to re-sign Brunson on a much cheaper deal last summer. They opted to take a gamble on the former Villanova standout, and now with the benefit of hindsight, it is clear that it wasn't the best decision for Dallas.
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