Why are the Mavericks unwilling to renew Brunson's contract for 4 years and 55.5 million and let go of their rookie for nothing?

Dearest Basketball Jun

2024-05-15 20:04Published in Guangdong

So far in the playoffs, the best players to choose are not Jokic, SGA and Doncic, who are in the top three on the MVP list, not Tatum in the league's No. 1 team, but Brunson, who has been ignored by everyone. So far, he has averaged 32.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 7.6 assists per game, ranking first in the league in scoring and 6th in assists. Even in G5 against the Pacers, he scored 28 points in the half, setting a new team record for the Knicks.

Why are the Mavericks unwilling to renew Brunson's contract for 4 years and 55.5 million and let go of their rookie for nothing?

In the two seasons he came to the Knicks, Brunson performed very well, and led the team to the Eastern Conference semifinals, which is also the team's best record in the past 10 years. But he was actually chosen by the Lone Ranger. The third pick in the second round in 2018, he entered the league in the same year as Doncic. The Mavericks also have the right of first refusal to renew Brunson's contract, and Brunson also extended his contract with the team early, but the Mavericks did not agree. Why are the Mavericks unwilling to renew Brunson's contract for 4 years and 55.5 million and let go of their rookie for nothing?

In the first 3 seasons of his career, Brunson was a substitute, averaging around 10 points per game, and he was an older draft, he was 22 years old when he entered the NBA, and he was 25 years old in the third year, so he was desperate to get a long-term contract, and the asking price for him and the Mavericks was not high, only 55.5 million for 4 years, which is completely the price of cabbage. But the Mavericks were not in a hurry about this, at that time there were already many garbage contracts with tens of millions of annual salaries in the team, and Brunson was a short point guard with a height of 1.88 meters, so there was indeed a relatively big risk, and the contract renewal was put on hold.

But unexpectedly, Brunson, who was promoted to the starter, performed better and better, scoring 16.3 points, and the playoffs exploded even more when Doncic did not play, leading the team to lead the Jazz in the series. By this time, Brunson had already taken the initiative, and the Knicks showed great sincerity. specially signed Brunson's father to lobby Brunson to join, and New York is Brunson's hometown, which is emotionally bound to him.

Brunson himself said that at first he considered renewing the Mavericks' contract in advance, and after being rejected, he played better and better, far exceeding expectations, and later the Mavericks agreed to a 4-year contract of 55.5 million, and even increased the price to the 5-year 100 million level, but Brunson disagreed. New York directly opened a 4-year fat contract of 104 million, which is a price that the Mavericks can't afford, so they can't match him, so they can only let him go.

And being on the same team as Doncic will undoubtedly affect Brunson's growth, and both of them need a lot of ball possession. After arriving at the Knicks, becoming the boss of the team, Brunson began to break out, he had already won the Player of the Month last year, and this year he was an All-Star, and the best team was stable. This does prove that Brunson's decision to leave the Mavericks was correct, and the Knicks' vision of people has indeed become more and more accurate in recent years. Now 104 million for 4 years, it has completely become a super value contract, and by this offseason, Brunson has met the conditions for an early contract extension, do you think the Knicks will directly offer the maximum salary?

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