If Mavericks owner Mark Cuban wasn’t aware of Jalen Brunson’s impact on his team, he certainly is now.
The former Dallas guard—who now plays for the Knicks—spent four seasons with the team, averaging 11.9 points and 3.7 assists per game. But after his breakout 2021-22 campaign in which he averaged career highs in points (16.3 per game) and assists (4.8), it appeared as though he was ready to take his career to new heights in a Mavs uniform.
Instead of Dallas signing Brunson to a long-term deal–a decision that was reportedly discussed on multiple occasions–the Knicks signed the crafty guard to a four-year, $104 million contract to return to his hometown team. However, on Wednesday, Cuban blamed Brunson’s father, Rick, for why the guard is no longer in Dallas.
“Things went south when the parents got involved,” Cuban said, per ESPN’s Tim McMahon.
Rick was hired as an assistant with the Knicks in June 2022, a little more than a month before Jalen signed with New York. The league later investigated the signing for tampering, and ruled that the team violated league rules, stripping it of its second-round pick in 2025.
Brunson has thrived in his new home, averaging 24 points per game and shooting 41.6% from the three-point line as the Knicks sit in fifth in the Eastern Conference. Dallas, meanwhile, is in freefall. The Mavericks secured Kyrie Irving on Feb. 6 in a trade with the Nets three days before the league’s trade deadline. But Dallas (37–42) sits a half game behind the Thunder for the 10th and final play-in spot in the Western Conference and has lost seven of its last 10.
After the Mavericks’ practice on Tuesday, star Luka Dončić told reporters that the team misses Brunson’s presence “a lot.”
