'Knicks Have My Best Interest in Mind': Jalen Brunson on Leaving Mavs

The Dallas Mavericks could've offered Jalen Brunson more money than the New York Knicks in free agency, but at the end of the day, they couldn't compete with family ties.

Dalton Trigg | Jul 19, 2022

On Tuesday, the New York Knicks held their first press conference since signing Jalen Brunson away from the Dallas Mavericks in free agency with a four-year contract in excess of $100 million. Although Brunson claims that his decision to leave Dallas wasn't an easy one, he revealed why he ultimately chose the Knicks.

“I’ve known [the Knicks] for a long time. It’s family,” said Brunson. “It’s a comfort level to this and something that I just couldn’t turn a blind eye to. I know that these guys have my best interest at heart, and I thinkLeon [Rose] probably saw me before my dad did, so it’s just one big family for me and I’m just super excited."

After being selected by the Mavs with the No. 33 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, Brunson improved in every one of his four seasons in Dallas, but he really took off last season under first-year Mavs head coach Jason Kidd. In December, Kidd made Brunson a full-time starter, and the rest is history. Brunson averaged 16.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 4.8 assists last season while shooting 50.2 percent from the field, including 37.3 percent from 3-point range. He was also a key reason the Mavs made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals.

“For the longest time, I thought I’d never leave Dallas. I thought Dallas was my home for my entire career," said Brunson.

"It’s great place, a place that I really wanted to be, and I’m so thankful that they took a chance on me. It was definitely tough. I’m going to miss my teammates. That organization’s special. The relationships that I made that, it was really special, so I’m definitely going to miss it.”

Brunson believes the Knicks have his "best interest in mind" due to family ties, and perhaps that's true to a certain extent, but actions might speak louder than words before it's said and done.

The Mavs promoted Brunson and made him a priority as the team's second-best player next to Luka Doncic. On the other hand, though, after thinking he'd be the top guy in New York, Brunson now has to watch as the Knicks consider moving mountains in order to trade for Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell ... essentially putting Brunson back in the No. 2 slot behind a player he outplayed in the postseason.

Isn't being the second option more appealing when your No. 1 is a three-time All-NBA First Team player and your team was talented enough to make a conference finals run? Brunson should thrive in his new home regardless of who is added to New York's roster. ... It just might not be exactly what he envisioned when he initially made the decision to leave Dallas.

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Published Jul 19, 2022

DALTON TRIGG

Dalton Trigg is the Editor-In-Chief for Dallas Basketball, as well as the Executive Editor overseeing Inside The Rockets, Inside The Spurs, All Knicks, and The Magic Insider. He is the founder and host for the Mavs Step Back Podcast, which is a proud part of the Blue Wire podcast network. Trigg graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi’s College of Business and Economic Development with a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship in 2016. After spending a few years with multiple Dallas Mavericks-related blogs, including SB Nation’s Mavs Moneyball, Trigg joined DallasBasketball.com as a staff writer in 2018 and never looked back. At the start of 2022, he was promoted to the EIC title he holds now. Through the years, Trigg has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, Mavs GM Nico Harrison, now-retired legend Dirk Nowitzki and many other current/former players and team staffers. Many of those interviews and other articles by Trigg have been aggregated by other well-known sports media websites, such as Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and others. You can find Trigg on all major social media channels, but his most prevalent platform is on Twitter. Whether it’s posting links to his DBcom work, live-tweeting Mavs games or merely giving his opinions on things going on with Dallas and the rest of the NBA, the daily content never stops rolling. For any inquiries, please email Dalton@MavsStepBack.com.