Dallas Basketball

Stephen A. Smith on Mavs' Jalen Brunson: 'Knicks Are a Disaster - Worse Than Dallas Cowboys'

The New York Knicks are clearing cap space to make a run at Dallas Mavericks free agent Jalen Brunson.
Dalton Trigg|
Stephen A. Smith on Mavs' Jalen Brunson: 'Knicks Are a Disaster - Worse Than Dallas Cowboys'
Stephen A. Smith on Mavs' Jalen Brunson: 'Knicks Are a Disaster - Worse Than Dallas Cowboys'

It's no secret the New York Knicks are trying to do everything within their power to lure Jalen Brunson away from the Dallas Mavericks in free agency ... even at the risk of messing up their future.

Polarizing sports media personality Stephen A. Smith is a life-long Knicks fan, and he wasn't shy while airing his frustrations with the franchise on Friday after what many viewed as a failed NBA Draft night.

"The New York Knicks are a disaster," said Smith on ESPN's First Take. "I'm not going to the garden next year. I won't go to one game ... The Knicks are worse than the Dallas Cowboys."

Of course Smith couldn't let his rant end without throwing a dart at the Cowboys, but he might have a point. Unless Brunson takes an even bigger step toward stardom, wouldn't signing him for nearly $30 million per year at his current production lock the Knicks into mediocrity for the next four years? We're still six days away from that question actually becoming relevant, but New York's chances of stealing Brunson appear to be increasing.

According to NBA reporter Marc Stein, the Knicks, who still have to shed more salary in order to give Brunson a contract in the four-year, $100 million range, might now be considered the favorites to sign Brunson when free agency negotiations begin on June 30.

Many Knicks fans hoped their team would be aggressive in moving up in the draft order to select Jaden Ivey on Thursday night. However, the Knicks ended up not only trading the No. 11 pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder, but they also acquired the No. 13 pick from the Charlotte Hornets ... and then redirected that pick to the Detroit Pistons in a three-team trade in order to dump Kemba Walker's $9 million salary.

Although New York did receive three future first-round picks from OKC, they are all heavily protected and could dissolve into second-round picks if not conveyed in the next three-to-five years. The Knicks, who didn't even qualify for the NBA Play-In Tournament this season, did all of that just for a chance at signing Brunson.

If the Knicks do end up with Brunson, they better hope he develops into a true star ... not just a good player. If not, they could look back at the 2022 draft and have regrets in the coming years.

You can follow Dalton Trigg on Twitter at @dalton_trigg

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Dalton Trigg
DALTON TRIGG

Dalton Trigg is the Editor-In-Chief for Dallas Basketball, as well as the Executive Editor overseeing Inside The Rockets, Inside The Spurs, All Knicks, and The Magic Insider. He is the founder and host for the Mavs Step Back Podcast, which is a proud part of the Blue Wire podcast network. Trigg graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi’s College of Business and Economic Development with a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship in 2016. After spending a few years with multiple Dallas Mavericks-related blogs, including SB Nation’s Mavs Moneyball, Trigg joined DallasBasketball.com as a staff writer in 2018 and never looked back. At the start of 2022, he was promoted to the EIC title he holds now. Through the years, Trigg has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, Mavs GM Nico Harrison, now-retired legend Dirk Nowitzki and many other current/former players and team staffers. Many of those interviews and other articles by Trigg have been aggregated by other well-known sports media websites, such as Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and others. You can find Trigg on all major social media channels, but his most prevalent platform is on Twitter. Whether it’s posting links to his DBcom work, live-tweeting Mavs games or merely giving his opinions on things going on with Dallas and the rest of the NBA, the daily content never stops rolling. For any inquiries, please email Dalton@MavsStepBack.com.

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