Jalen Brunson Mavs Free Agency: Heat Never Had Meeting Scheduled?
The Dallas Mavericks' top focus entering free-agency will be to re-sign Jalen Brunson. They are set to meet with him on Day 1 of free agency in New York City, along with the Knicks.
It was reported by Yahoo! Sports on Wednesday night that among the teams to secure a meeting with Brunson after free agency opens was the Miami Heat. They were even described as being a 'darkhorse team' to potentially acquire him in a sign-and-trade.
There is a darkhorse team in play: the Miami Heat, as they’ve secured a meeting, too, sources said. In order for the Heat to acquire Brunson, it would take a sign-and-trade agreement.
Multiple reports on Thursday suggested that Brunson actually doesn't actually have a meeting with the Heat. The focus remains on the Knicks and Mavericks for his services.
The Mavericks will have owner Mark Cuban, general manager Nico Harrison, coach Jason Kidd, and potentially some players in attendance for the team's meeting with Brunson. It will be potentially the final chance to entice him to re-sign.
The Knicks have pulled out all the stops to clear the necessary cap space to sign Brunson to a four-year deal worth in the range of $110 million without needing to facilitate a sign-and-trade to make it work. With his father, Rick, now being a member of the coaching staff, and the father-son connection between Knicks management and his representation, there are plenty of dots to connect. Most importantly, he'd be the primarily ball handler.
With the Mavericks, they can offer a fifth year on a contract offer while no other team is eligible to do so. They reportedly were seeking to get a five-year, $106 million deal done with Brunson, but will need to up their offer.
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