Jalen Brunson's Free Agency 'Top Priority' for Mavs, Says GM Nico Harrison

The Mavs could be in for a busy summer, but retaining Jalen Brunson appears to be the first thing they want to take care of when the free agency bell rings.

Dalton Trigg | May 27, 2022

The Dallas Mavericks' 2021-22 season is officially in the books, and now, the front office will shift focus to the offseason in hopes of upgrading the roster around Luka Doncic.

Dallas has been linked to Utah Jazz big man Rudy Gobert in trade rumors, and most recently, Chicago Bulls star shooting guard Zach LaVine in free agency buzz, but according to Mavs GM Nico Harrison, the team will look to take care of some in-house business before moving on to other possibilities.

Jalen Brunson, Dallas Mavericks, Golden State Warriors — Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

"[Jalen Brunson is] the top priority. We've got to figure that out," said Harrison during his exit interview on Friday. "Obviously, we're not in control of it, but he's definitely a priority. We want to re-sign him. He knows it. We want him back. He'll be a big part of our future."

Brunson, who will be 26 years old before next season begins, will be an unrestricted free agent in five weeks from now with no shortage of interested suitors. He had a breakout year under first-year Mavs head coach Jason Kidd, who inserted him into the starting lineup permanently after the first few months of the season.

Brunson averaged career highs across the board with 16.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 4.8 assist. He raised his level of play even higher in the Mavs' run to the Western Conference Finals by averaging 21.6 points per game.

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Although some teams, like the Detroit Pistons, will have the cap space to sign Brunson outright if he chooses to leave, the Mavs can still exceed the salary cap and luxury tax to outbid any offer he receives. Not only do the Mavs want to keep Brunson, but they believe he wants to stick around Dallas as well.

"We can pay him more than anybody," Mavs owner Mark Cuban told NBA reporter Marc Stein on Thursday. "I think he wants to stay and that's most important."

Published May 27, 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.