The Dallas Mavericks remain confident of their ability to re-sign Jalen Brunson despite the New York Knicks‘ move to hire his father.
Rick Brunson is reportedly close to finalizing a deal to become part of Tom Thibodeau’s coaching staff, per SNY report.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, “there is no grave concern bubbling (yet) in Dallas…”
It’s an open secret around the league that Thibodeau had wanted to bring Rick Brunson on board when he was hired to coach the Knicks in 2020. As previously reported, Brunson already tendered his resignation from his coaching post at Camden High School, only to change his mind a few days later.
The Knicks are the Mavericks’ most serious rival in Jalen Brunson’s services, with or without them hiring his father. But the Mavericks are unperturbed since they are the only team that can offer the most money with an extra year tacked on a potential deal.
“After cementing himself this season as Dallas’ second-most reliable player behind Luka Don?i?, Brunson is expected to command a contract in free agency that meets or even exceeds Fred VanVleet’s recent four-year, $85 million deal with Toronto. VanVleet was undrafted; Brunson was a second-round pick (No. 33 overall) in 2018,” Stein wrote in the Friday edition of his Substack newsletter.
Former NBA Agent and founder of ProFitX.ai Joshua Ebrahim, who struck a partnership with the Mavericks, projects Brunson’s floor in the $21 million range before his elevated performance in the playoffs.
“So I would imagine it to be between the $20-25 million range. I think that’s where he’ll end up and have a lot of interest from opposing teams,” Ebrahim said on the Mavs Film Room podcast last March.
The Knicks have to unload around $20 million — a combination of Kemba Walker, Nerlens Noel or Alec Burks — to open up a cap space to contend for Brunson in the open market. Otherwise, they will have to maneuver a complex sign-and-trade deal with the Mavericks, which they are reportedly not keen on doing.
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