EXCLUSIVE: Mavs Will ‘Do All They Can’ to Retain Brunson, Finney-Smith Long Term, Says Cuban
There has been quite a bit of NBA trade speculation regarding key Dallas Mavericks role players Jalen Brunson and Dorian Finney-Smith in recent weeks.
Despite all the smoke, though, the Mavs have made it clear that they intend to keep both Brunson and Finney-Smith, not just past this trade deadline, but beyond this offseason when both players are due new contrasts and significant pay raises.
“We will do all we can to keep (both Jalen Brunson) and Dorian (Finney-Smith),” Mavs owner Mark Cuban tells DallasBasketball.com.
Considering that Cuban hasn’t paid the luxury tax in over a decade, the Mavs doing ‘all they can’ to retain and pay Brunson and Finney-Smith seems to indicate that other salary-shedding moves could be coming in the near future - if not before the trade deadline, then perhaps around the NBA Draft before free agency begins.
The Mavs, and Cuban specifically, have been thrilled with Brunson’s exponential growth in his fourth season. The 25-year-old point guard is just entering his prime and is averaging career-high numbers across the board this season. And despite what the Dallas salary sheet might indicate, Brunson has arguably become the Mavs’ second-best player this season behind superstar Luka Doncic.
To do what the Mavs are wanting to do with Brunson and Finney-Smith, one would assume that Dallas will be looking for ways to trade other salaries on the roster, like Tim Hardaway Jr., to make more room going forward. Hardaway Jr. just signed a four-year, $74 million contract with the Mavs last summer, but his plummeted three-point shooting this season has made that deal look like a bit of an overpay.
Although no trade rumors involving Kristaps Porzingis have surfaced this season, it wouldn’t be the craziest thing to imagine the Mavs looking to trade off of his max deal, which has two years remaining after this one. How the Mavs, and Porzingis specifically, perform in the postseason could potentially influence that situation.
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