Brunson as Full-Time Mavs Starter? Why it Needs to Happen
When the Dallas Mavericks drafted Jalen Brunson with the 33rd pick in the 2018 Draft, they knew they were fortunate to land the NCAA champion and Naismith Player of the Year in the second round, being that they had him pegged as being a lock for a first-round pick in their pre-draft process.
Mavs’ superstar and face of the franchise Luka Doncic got the majority of the spotlight on draft night, and that has continued to be the case for the last three years overall. Still, in his three-and-a-half seasons, Brunson has done enough to warrant being considered as Dallas’s second-best draft pick in more than two decades.
Brunson has always been a capable scoring guard, both off the bench or as a starter when needed, but the biggest question heading into his fourth season, which is a contract year, was whether or not he’d be able to take the next step as a true secondary playmaker. So far this season, Brunson has shown that he is more than capable of taking on that extended role for Dallas.
In 31 games, Brunson is averaging 15.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 5.4 assists, which would all be career-highs if the season ended today. In 13 games as a starter, Brunson has risen to the occasion by averaging 21.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 7.1 assists while shooting 48.3-percent from the field and 36.5-percent from deep.
Brunson has proven that he is a starting-caliber NBA point guard, and if the Mavs don’t want to risk losing him in unrestricted free agency next offseason, head coach Jason Kidd should consider keeping him as a full-time starter when Doncic returns from the NBA’s health and safety protocols.
Some people worry about what that would mean for the Mavs’ defense with the starting lineup, being that Doncic and Brunson aren’t necessarily considered lockdown defenders. Some worry about what would happen to Dallas’ bench production with Brunson not being there to hold things down.
The biggest concern for the Mavs, though, in our opinion, is whether or not Brunson will be tempted to look for a more significant role elsewhere if he isn’t given that opportunity now. With no disrespect intended towards Kristaps Porzingis, Dallas would be wise to start Brunson alongside Doncic, and then build the rest of the starting lineup around those two as best suited.
Even if the bench unit takes a hit from such a move, a mid-to-late season addition of Goran Dragic, who many believe will be bought out by the Toronto Raptors at some point and join Dallas, would be enough to alleviate some of those concerns. And although Trey Burke isn’t necessarily a secondary distributor, he’s proven that he can stay ready, step in and play well off the bench from time to time.
Obviously, other moves could be made to address the Mavs’ depth needs, but the Dragic ones still appear to be the easiest, almost-certain path to achieving that, at least when it comes to backcourt help.
By all accounts, Brunson has made it known that he loves playing in Dallas. He and Doncic are pretty much best friends at this point, as we see them interacting and taking sibling-like jabs at each other on social media every now and then. Brunson has also seemed to really enjoy his short time with Jason Kidd as his head coach as well.
All of that is great, but if an NBA player wants more of a role than what he’s currently getting, he’s going to look around for the best possible situation for himself going forward.
Although Brunson will be an unrestricted free agent, the Mavs will be able to pay him more money than any other team would be able to. That in itself is a major advantage in contract negotiations, so long as the Mavs don’t try to low-ball Brunson.
That said, though, money isn’t always everything. We saw a prime example of that two offseasons ago when Jerami Grant left the Denver Nuggets for the Detroit Pistons, despite being offered the same exact amount of money. The Nuggets had just made it to the Western Conference Finals and were offering Grant the same amount of money, and he still chose to leave because he wanted an opportunity for an increased role.
How strong Brunson’s desire for a bigger role actually is going forward has yet to be seen, but judging by his play while being a starter this season, it’s obvious that the Mavs don’t need to play around with him.
When you have a good player who has taken a big leap in overall production, you upgrade that player’s role for the betterment of your team. We should find out soon if the Mavs feel that way about Brunson when Doncic returns to action.
