Dallas Basketball

Mavs Donuts: All Eyes on Jalen Brunson; Trade Rumor Roundup

Here's your fresh batch of ‘Mavs Donuts,’ where we look at 12 of the NBA's biggest storylines for today, including what's going on with the Dallas Mavericks.

Jeremy Brener

Here's your fresh batch of ‘Mavs Donuts,’ where we look at 12 of the NBA's biggest storylines for today, including what's going on with the Dallas Mavericks.

DONUT 1: THE 'FLIGHT RISK' IS REAL

A Brunson ‘flight risk’ being ‘real’ is not something that will make any of these upcoming decisions any easier for general manager Nico Harrison.

Even with Brunson now being a full-time starter next to Luka Doncic, he still doesn’t have the same kind of control over games like he did when Doncic missed time earlier this season. If Brunson has eyes this upcoming summer for a team like the New York Knicks - a team he’s been linked to all trade season - then maybe getting the best return for him now could be better than the risk of losing him for nothing in July.

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DONUT 2: DOES JALEN WANT TO STAY?

Allegedly, the New York Knicks have considerable interest in Brunson, and it's rumored that the Mavs' 2023 draft pick could be in play New York is to acquire his services. Would Dallas really trade arguably its second-best player to receive a pick back that they traded to obtain Kristaps Porzingis three years ago?

DONUT 3: CJ TO BIG D?

After watching the Dallas Mavericks lose to the league's worst team in the Orlando Magic on Sunday night, it's apparent they need help in the scoring department. Thankfully for Dallas, the Portland Trail Blazers have a player rumored on the trade block. Murmurs of executives viewing C.J. McCollum as a negative asset continue as the trade deadline approaches.

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DONUT 4: OR COULD THEY SWING DINWIDDIE?

A recent report implies that Washington Wizards guard Spencer Dinwiddie is available on the trade block due to the fact that he hasn’t meshed well with superstar Bradley Beal. Could this potentially be where Harrison make his first big move as a front office executive?

While the Mavs currently harbor a much-improved Jalen Brunson, who is having a career-best season, no extension or offseason guarantees have surfaced from the front office or Brunson himself. Considering Brunson's up-in-the-air free agency status, the Mavs might want to explore all their options and look at point guard under contract until 2024.

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DONUT 5: INGLES OUT FOR SEASON

Long-tenured Utah Jazz role player Joe Ingles went down with a torn ACL according to multiple reports. Ingles' knee buckled with no contact on a drive to the rim in the second quarter.

The Jazz, Nuggets and Mavs appear to be a in a middle tier all to themselves, given that they're all separated by just one game in the West standings as we enter the final stretch of the season. Dallas and Denver are currently on much different trajectories than Utah is right now. We'll find out soon if any of these teams will do anything at the NBA trade deadline in attempt to graduate to the upper tier of the conference.

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DONUT 6: ON THIS DAY, 1984

David Stern officially took over as the NBA’s fourth Commissioner, replacing the retired Larry O’Brien, who had served as Commissioner since 1975. Stern previously served as the NBA’s first General Counsel and later as Executive VP of Legal & Business Affairs.

DONUT 7: STEPH'S 40 HELPS DUBS DROP ROCKETS

Steph Curry's 40-point masterclass pushed his Golden State Warriors past the West-worst Houston Rockets. Final score: 122-108.

DONUT 8: NO EMBIID, NO PROBLEM: SIXERS BEAT GRIZZLIES FOR FIFTH CONSECUTIVE WIN

Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey scored a game-high 33 points, while Andre Drummond filled in for a resting Joel Embiid and grabbed 23 rebounds to beat the Memphis Grizzlies in overtime 122-119. Ja Morant had 37 points in the losing effort.

DONUT 9: CELTICS FREEZE HEAT BY 30

The Boston Celtics knocked the Miami Heat out of sole possession of first place with a 122-92 win. Jaylen Brown led all scorers with 29.

DONUT 10: ROOKIE ISAIAH JACKSON LEADS PACERS TO WIN OVER CLIPPERS

No. 22 overall pick Isaiah Jackson scored a career-high 26 points in his first career start in a 122-116 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.

DONUT 11: CAVS LEAD 4TH QUARTER COMEBACK IN WIN VS. PELS

The Cleveland Cavaliers' bench scored 52 points, including 21 from Brandon Goodwin, to help beat the New Orleans Pelicans 93-90.

DONUT 12: UP NEXT

The Mavs are off tonight and head back home to face the Oklahoma City Thunder Wednesday. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CT.

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Jeremy Brener
JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.

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