Jalen Brunson was the biggest offseason free agent signing for the New York Knicks, as he chose to leave the Dallas Mavericks after the team just made a run to the Western Conference Finals and added Christian Wood to solve their big-man issues in the postseason. Brunson had been recruited by the Knicks for a while, with the league investigating the Knicks for tampering.
Brunson was drafted in 2018 as a 2nd round pick by the Mavericks. Their 1st round pick in that draft was Luka Doncic, with Luka and Jalen developing over 4 seasons together and developing a close relationship. Brunson’s college experience also meant he grew as a locker room leader in his time at Dallas, making his departure sting even more.
Brunson was a 20-point scorer for Dallas in the playoffs and his contributions will be terribly missed by the Mavericks. Dallas head coach Jason Kidd believes the same, saying the team will have to replace him by committee because of how much Brunson brought to the table both on and off the court.
Jason Kidd on losing Jalen Brunson to the NY Knicks via free agency: "We wish him luck in New York. But we can’t replace him. We’re going to have to do it by committee because he brought so much to the table, not just on the court but off the court." pic.twitter.com/8fUXVZpPla
— Dwain Price (@DwainPrice) September 25, 2022
Do The Mavericks Have Enough After Losing Jalen Brunson?
The Mavs made the very curious decision of not signing a backup guard after Brunson’s departure this summer. They were heavily linked to be the ones to sign Goran Dragic, Dennis Schroder, and Dennis Smith Jr., but all these players have ended up on other teams already.
Spencer Dinwiddie is the most obvious name when it comes to a replacement for Brunson, but the guard play on the Mavs outside Luka and Spencer is non-existent. The team will rely on ball-handling to also be done by the likes of Tim Hardaway Jr. and possibly, Frank Ntilikina.
Replacing Brunson off the court is something the Mavs will struggle to do, as Jalen is incredibly unique and was a very close friend of Luka’s. However, the Mavs easily could have replaced Brunson on the court but chose not to. While this could pay off with the Mavs having the tallest average roster in the league, it seems like the team will be trying new things to alleviate the loss of JB.
