If you had told someone last summer that Jalen Brunson would be grabbing a lot of headlines next offseason, they would have laughed at you as a joke, but now it's the opposite. Due to his outstanding performance in the Mavericks playoffs, averaging 21.6 points per game and helping the Mavericks reach the Western Conference Finals, Brunson's value has skyrocketed and he has become a hot commodity during the offseason.
While his on-court performance was a big positive for the Mavericks, it wasn't. The team's front office had twice previously walked away from signing Brunson to a four-year, $55.6 million contract, and now He expected to be paid much more than that.
With New York involved, Brunson now looks set to head to the Knicks, who are preparing to offer him a four-year, $110 million contract. NBA Insider Chris Haynes reports that Brunson's team even believes that he can reach a higher level on the court if he doesn't play with Luka Doncic .
Brunson's team's bold statement is not unfounded. In the first three games of the playoffs without Doncic, Brunson averaged 32 points per game. He scored 41 points in a Game 2 win over the Jazz and followed that up with 31 points in Game 3. After Doncic returned, Brunson scored 3 points in the remaining games.
To be fair, playing alongside a ball-handling player like Doncic does reduce his teammates' opportunities to shine, and if Brunson can become the primary ball-handler, his numbers will skyrocket. This is obviously also a projection of New York's ability as they want him to be a full-time point guard and run games, something Brunson couldn't do in Dallas.
