With Jalen Brunson still unsigned by the New York Knicks, the possibility of working with the Dallas Mavericks for a sign-and-trade deal popped up recently. However, it no longer appears the ‘Bockers need the Mavs.
Brunson agreed to a four-year, $104 million deal with the Knicks, spurning a Mavs team that reportedly offered less than what New York gave him. However, even after the free agency moratorium ended, Brunson has yet to put pen to paper on his new deal.
Apparently, the Knicks are still making moves to open up the cap space they need to sign Brunson, even waiving Taj Gibson on Friday to remove his non-guaranteed contract off their books. However as New York tries to do some salary cap acrobatics, the idea of working with the Mavs for a sign-and-trade has been floated since it makes sense.
New York could acquire Brunson and save itself from the difficult decisions of clearing cap space, while the Mavs can get something in return. It's a win-win for sure.
Unfortunately as Fred Katz of The Athletic noted, multiple sources have said that the the “Knicks will use cap space to sign Jalen Brunson outright instead of doing a sign-and-trade with the Mavericks.”
Hearing from multiple sources that the Knicks will use cap space to sign Jalen Brunson outright instead of doing a sign-and-trade with the Mavericks.
— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) July 10, 2022
It's certainly not the update Mavs fans would want to hear, though it should have been expected. If the Knicks really had concerns about their salary cap situation after dealing with Jalen Brunson, they would have worked with Dallas for a sign-and-trade right from the start.
Nonetheless, the Knicks have maintained all along that they're not helping the Mavs by doing a sign-and-trade. Clearly, that remains the case.
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