Jalen Brunson Reveals Real Reason He Left Mavs to Sign With Knicks: 'I Really Did Want to Stay'

Former Mavs star Jalen Brunson provided a detailed recount of his departure from Dallas before signing with the Knicks in free agency.

DALLAS — Jalen Brunson has emerged as one of the NBA's top guards since signing a four-year, $104 million contract with the New York Knicks in the summer of 2022. He's further elevated his game this season after having a career year in 2022-23, averaging 27.6 points, 6.5 assists, and 3.8 rebounds in 52 games this season. 

Previous reporting suggested the Mavs had a chance to get a four-year, $55 million contract extension done with Brunson before his breakout season, ultimately helping lead the team along with Luka Doncic to the Western Conference Finals in 2022. Brunson recently told his side of the story, including those details. 

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During an appearance on the "All The Smoke" podcast with former NBA players Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes, Brunson detailed the timeline of events that led to his departure from the Dallas Mavericks before signing with the Knicks while confirming he desired to remain with the team that drafted him. 

"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."

Brunson admitted he thought he would play for the Mavs "for a long time" and enjoyed his role with the team alongside Doncic. His representation with CAA even encouraged him to see what was out there beyond Dallas, while he was more so wanting to get a deal done to be financially secure. However, the Mavs wanted to keep their options open when they had a chance to get a deal done both before and during the 2022-23 season. 

"I thought I would be there for a long time, and I liked my role there," Brunson said. "It's funny because my agent was like, 'I mean, you can do so much. You can do you can get more.' I'm saying, like, 'Well, I just want to be safe. And I'm not trying to gamble right now. This is not something you can really gamble with if it's out there.'

"And so, but [the Mavs] were like, 'We want to see where we're at like 20, 25 games into the season," Brunson explained. "But we were like, 'Alright, well, if we're not going to do it, I kind of don't want to do it until after the season. I'm not trying to think about this during the season."

When Brunson received more opportunities due to an injury to Doncic, he stepped into a starting role and never looked back. He averaged over 20 points and six assists for a stretch and remained the long-term backcourt partner with Doncic going forward. At this time, Brunson still felt there was a chance he'd be traded after he went to the Mavs and checked back in to see if they could get that contract done. 

"So there's a period where Luka went out, and I started to start. I was playing really well. I think I was averaging, 20 [points] and six [assists] maybe," Brunson said. "It was about that 20, 25 [game] mark. And so we went back. We're like, 'Hey, if the deal's there, we're thinking about it. I'll do it. Like, right now.' Still, it was no. Like, it wasn't a hard no. The trade deadline comes. I'm thinking, like, well, if I'm not getting extended, I'm probably going to get traded. I think the way I've been playing, I'm playing somewhat decent. And so that didn't happen."

Just like how the Mavs completed the contract extension with Dorian Finney-Smith, the team waited until after the trade deadline to offer Brunson the deal he felt at that point he'd "outgrown" due to his production. Dallas' actions signaled wanting to keep both Brunson and Finney-Smith trade eligible in the event a deal they wanted to take came available, but nothing transpired on that front. 

"And then, the deal came on the table after the trade deadline. I was like, 'No. I think I think I've outgrown that now.' Personally, that's what I thought. I was like, 'I think I've outgrown that.' Obviously, going to the playoffs, Luka gets hurt, like, second to last game or last game of the season. And so he's out for the first three games [in the playoff series], and I obviously did what I did. Ain't no looking back."

Even after the Western Conference Finals were completed due to the Mavs' elimination by the Golden State Warriors, Brunson recalled seeing comments from Mark Cuban exclaiming Dallas is confident in retaining him since the team can pay the most money. However, Brunson doesn't recall hearing any communication from the Mavs before free agency, while at the same time, the Knicks were aggressive in clearing the necessary salary cap space to sign him. 

"And so that all happens. I'm trying to think of my timeline so I don't mess up," Brunson said. "So after losing the Western Conference Finals, I remember seeing something on Twitter after the game, and it was like Mark [Cuban] saying, 'We can pay him the most money.' And so he says that in the interview right after the game. And then so I'm thinking, like, I'm okay. After that, it was like crickets, from my point of view, I can't speak to anyone else. I'm not. Just from my point of view, it was crickets."

"I saw, like, New York making moves and saw all that stuff," Brunson explained. "I was close to home — two hours away from where I was, an hour away from where I was born. Parents over the East Coast, whole families on the East Coast. So I started thinking, like, 'Could this be a real thing?' And so, then, here we are."

It's important to mention that the Knicks did get in trouble with the NBA for tampering after an investigation into their signing of Brunson. At that point of the timeline, it seemed to be a foregone conclusion that he would depart to sign with the Knicks after Dallas hadn't gotten a contract done before his breakout.  

Brunson made a tremendous career decision for himself, emerging as the top talent on the Knicks while being among the league leaders in time of possession. He's the floor general for an iconic franchise in the biggest media market in the United States, with his father, Rick, as an assistant coach, all while achieving significant success.