“Is Brunson value all of that cash, although? That is debatable,” wrote Bleacher Report NBA columnist Zach Buckley, who graded the signing as a C. “He struggles attending to the road, would not stripe many off-the-bounce threes and is extra of a combo guard than a flooring basic, which is not best for a 6-foot-1 participant.”
Brunson, nonetheless, proved to be definitely worth the cash after which some for New York. In 4 seasons with the Knicks, he has made three All-Star Video games, earned three second-team All-NBA nods and gained the 2024-25 Clutch Participant of the Yr award.
What’s been simply as priceless for the Knicks as his on-court abilities are his management and unselfishness. Brunson signed a four-year, $156.5M extension with New York in 2024 however left $113M on the table to supply extra cap room. The additional money allowed New York to accumulate middle Karl-Anthony Cities and guard Mikal Bridges in blockbuster trades with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Brooklyn Nets.
The Mavericks clearly did not understand what that they had in Brunson, and that has left former principal proprietor Mark Cuban (now a minority proprietor) with regrets. The proprietor informed the “Run Your Race” podcast in November 2025 that the group might’ve re-signed Brunson through the 2021-22 season however opted to not as a result of he thought they may land one other star to pair with Doncic.
“[Brunson] wasn’t [Brunson] then,” he said. “We knew [his game] was good, however we did not comprehend it was that good.”
A league investigation discovered the Knicks guilty of initiating free-agent discussions with Brunson earlier than the authorized tampering window, they usually misplaced a 2025 second-round decide. That did give them an edge over Dallas in contract negotiations. Nonetheless, he might not have re-signed with the Mavericks. The Western Convention squad clearly wished one other star, which is why they landed guard Kyrie Irving in a commerce with the Nets in February 2023.
Irving and Doncic led the Mavericks to the 2024 NBA Finals however misplaced to the Boston Celtics in 5 video games. The franchise has plummeted since.
Dallas dealt Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for ahead Anthony Davis (now with the Washington Wizards) in February 2025, a transfer that continues to hang-out the group. Of their first full season with out the high-scoring star, the Mavericks went 26-56. Irving missed final season after struggling an ACL tear in his left knee in March 2025. On the brilliant facet, ahead Cooper Flagg gained Rookie of the Yr, however that also does little to appease the franchise’s ache.
Watching Brunson hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy should be bittersweet for Cuban and firm. They’re completely happy the participant they drafted and developed has reached the top of basketball. However they need he wasn’t doing so with one other group.
