Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban Blames Jalen Brunson's 'Parents' For Knicks Arrival

With his Dallas Mavericks on the brink of postseason oblivion, Mark Cuban took another look at the process that sent Jalen Brunson to the New York Knicks.

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban once again opined on Jalen Brunson's departure from his defending Western Conference finalists, blaming family ties for the fifth-year man's eventual landing with the New York Knicks. Cuban appeared to blame Brunson's father Rick, hired as an assistant coach weeks before he signed, and team president Leon Rose, Brunson's godfather who was previously his agent.

"Where it went south was when Rick took over, when the parent took over, or parents took over," Cuban told Dallas media, per ESPN's Tim McMahon.

Brunson enjoyed a breakout postseason en route to the semifinal round and has carried that momentum over to New York, which has secured the fifth seed in the upcoming Eastern Conference Playoffs. Earner of a four-year, $104 million deal from the Knicks over the summer, Brunson has averaged 24 points and 6.2 assists a game to place the Knicks (47-33) back in the postseason picture. 

Cuban claims that the familial ties didn't allow the Mavericks to get any sort of counteroffer in before Brunson agreed to move east. He also refuted the Brunsons' that the point guard was willing to sign a $56 million extension last season, sharing texts between agent Aaron Mintz and Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison. It was the best the Mavericks could offer at the time barring any trades to open salary cap space.

"'We aren't going to make a decision on JB based on what Aaron says his dad wants in July,'" Cuban said. "Nico back then is saying, this is in February, 'I agree with you, but I think just the New York thing is too tied to their family to overcome.'"

"I mean, there was no negotiation," Cuban continued. "They didn't give us a number. I mean, you would think that when you're the incumbent team and you can match anything, that's the way it works. Right? You have a relationship with the agent and they want to at least give you a chance because you helped develop the player. You had him for four years. OK, let's work together."

The elder Brunson previously worked with head coach Tom Thibodeau in Chicago and Minnesota and was previously a Rose client during a nine-year playing career that featured two stops in New York. A tampering investigation later docked the Knicks a second-round pick in 2025. 

While the Knicks likely find the lost second-rounder more than an acceptable price to pay for Brunson's services, the Mavericks have desperately sought a replacement. It got to the point where Cuban and Harrison dealt two more starters from last year's Western finalist group (Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith) to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for polarizing star Kyrie Irving. 

Dallas has floundered since Irving's arrival and is on the brink of basketball oblivion, even with Luka Dončić still around: as it stands, the Mavericks (38-42) are tied for the fourth and final Play-In Tournament spot in the Western Conference but lose out on a tiebreaker to Oklahoma City. They stayed alive with a win over the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday and face a Chicago Bulls group locked into an Eastern Play-In berth on Friday night (8:30 p.m. ET, Bally Sports Southwest). 

Perhaps traumatized by his shortcomings at point guard last offseason, Cuban expressed a desire to keep Irving around despite the Mavericks' struggles. 

"I'd love to have him stay for sure," Cuban said. "I'd love to have him. I want him to stay for sure, and I think we have a good shot. I think he's happy here. He tells me he's happy here, and I get along great with him. I think he's a good guy. All I can tell you is everything I thought I knew about Kyrie because everything I read was 100 percent wrong."

Unable to move up or down in the Eastern Conference standings, the Knicks kept Brunson out of Wednesday's win over Indiana. That plot will potentially continue on Friday when another meaningless game against the New Orleans Pelicans tips off in the Big Easy (8 p.m. ET, MSG). 

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Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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