It's now all but official. Jalen Brunson has decided to shun the Dallas Mavericks in favor of a reported $110 million, four-year deal with the New York Knicks. As a matter of fact, Brunson never even gave the Mavs a chance to make him an offer after the highly-coveted point guard decided to cancel his meeting with the team just hours before free agency officially opens.
NBA insider Marc Stein reports, however, that the Mavs aren't exactly panicking right now. They knew that losing Brunson was a real possibility, and they have contingency plans in place. According to Stein, Dallas won't be scrambling to find a replacement for Brunson. However, these developments now open up a move for Luka Doncic's Slovenian teammate Goran Dragic:
As covered in two previous pieces, Dallas is not expected to immediately pursue guards after losing Jalen Brunson.
With Spencer Dinwiddie in place and Tim Hardaway Jr. due back from injury, Goran Dragic IS a strong eventual target after the Mavs chase wing and front-line depth. https://t.co/m16V6lMeV9
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 30, 2022
Dragic has long been linked to a move to the Mavs after his deal with the Brooklyn Nets comes to an end. It now seems like this will become a reality in the near future.
Another player that has been linked to the Mavs is three-time NBA champion JaVale McGee, who himself has garnered quite a bit of interest in free agency:
League sources say that the Mavericks do indeed have interest in signing JaVale McGee, as earlier reported by @Gambo987, but Dallas must commit some of its $6.4 million taxpayers' mid-level exception to signing rookie guard Jaden Hardy to a multi-year deal. https://t.co/6A5Rp37K7c
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 30, 2022
Finally, Stein reports that the one player the Mavs have no intention of pursuing is Kyrie Irving. The enigmatic Nets star's future with the team has once again been put into question on Thursday after Kevin Durant's bombshell trade request.
One source with knowledge of the team's thinking strongly dismissed the idea that Dallas would pursue a trade for Brooklyn's Kyrie Irving in the wake of Kevin Durant's trade demand.
More NBA from me: https://t.co/LGN9cVpeGP https://t.co/CDvcBqx8ma
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 30, 2022
Losing Brunson is an undeniably tough blow for the Mavs, but it is clear that they have safety measures in place already. They should be fine.
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