The New York Knicks took Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinal round against the Boston Celtics in thrilling fashion. The Knicks won, 108-105, in overtime in Boston as Jalen Brunson and O.G. Anunoby each scored 29 points for New York.
Brunson once again made some huge plays to help the Knicks get the win, and his strong postseason continues. In hindsight, the massive payday for Brunson paid off big time, even though he was a star with the Dallas Mavericks before coming to New York.
It's been a tough season for Mavericks fans, who saw the franchise trade Luka Doncic while Brunson reaches new heights.
If that wasn't bad enough, Brunson never wanted to leave the Mavericks in the first place.
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Why didn’t the Mavericks keep Jalen Brunson?
Brunson played the first four seasons of his career with the Mavericks after being selected in the second round of the 2018 NBA Draft. By the end of his Dallas tenure, Brunson was a key piece.
In 2021-22, Brunson averaged 16.3 points per game with 4.8 assists and 3.9 rebounds, each of which were career-highs at that point. With Brunson hitting free agency that summer, all signs pointed to him staying in Dallas, especially after what Mark Cuban said.
"We can pay him more than anybody," Cuban said, via Tim MacMahon of ESPN. "I think he wants to stay, and that's most important."
On top of that, Brunson revealed his desire to stay during an episode of the All The Smoke podcast in 2024.
"I really did want to stay in Dallas," Brunson said. "I think before my fourth season in Dallas, my last season in Dallas, we tried to extend our contract. Whatever we can get, the most we can get was, like, 4 years and $55 million. We wanted to do that. I wanted to stay there."
Dallas wanted to try and land a co-star for Luka Doncic, and the franchise wanted time to evaluate the roster, per MacMahon.
"The explanation was that Dallas had just undergone massive organizational change -- hiring a new head coach and general manager -- and wanted time to evaluate the roster. Harrison had said they wanted to wait until training camp opened in September. When that time came, the Mavs still didn't offer the extension," MacMahon wrote.
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So, the 2021-22 season began with a lot of question marks around Brunson's future. By season's end, there was no secret he had earned a massive pay raise.
The Knicks had a lot of compelling ties. Jalen's father, Rick Brunson, had known Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau for a long time, even dating back to Rick's days in the NBA.
Still, the Mavs did what they could to free up cap space to keep Brunson, and MacMahon reported that Cuban thought a "fair" offer for Brunson was in the five-year, $105 million range.
However, the Knicks offered more, giving Brunson ultimately a four-year, $104 million deal.
Moreover, Cuban even admitted that the Mavs never were told of the Knicks' offer.
"We didn't know what the bid was," Cuban said. "They never gave us a number. Knowing the numbers now, I would've paid it in a heartbeat, but he wouldn't have come anyway. There's just no possible way that it was about money."
Perhaps the Knicks ties were too much for Brunson to overlook. Maybe the chance to be the top option on a contending team was another compelling point for Brunson.
At the end of the day, the Knicks gave Brunson $25 million a year on average, and they nearly doubled the four-year, $55 million extension he had hoped Dallas would give him.
Now, the rest is history, and Brunson is leading the Knicks in hopes of a deep playoff run.
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