Jalen Brunson's Camp 'Laughed' At Dallas Mavericks Contract Offer in 2022

The New York Knicks are halfway to their first NBA championship since 1973, as they have a 2-0 lead on the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals. It's yet another reason for Dallas Mavericks fans to be in pain, as a former Mav, Jalen Brunson, has been the key catalyst in this run.

Dallas left the 2018 NBA Draft with Luka Doncic and Jalen Brunson. Eight years later, both players are on opposite coasts, playing in the two biggest markets in the NBA, and are two of the 10 best players in the league. Despite them being gone, the Mavericks have very little to show for it.

Doncic was infamously traded away for Anthony Davis in 2025, and the Mavs ended up having to salary dump him this season. Brunson walked in the 2022 free agency despite the Mavericks having plenty of opportunity to bring him back.

The way the story goes, Brunson and his camp approached the Mavericks ahead of the 2021-22 season looking for an extension, but he was coming off a rough playoff series against the LA Clippers. That made the Mavs hesitant to offer an extension. Brunson started to play a lot better in the 2021-22 season, to the point where he was outplaying the four-year, $55 million extension that he had wanted previously, which was the most they could offer at that time.

By the time the Mavericks realized he would've been worth that, Brunson agreed to bet on himself, to the point that he and his camp reportedly "laughed" at the Mavs when they came back to them with that offer.

Jun 5, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA; New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) looks on in the first quarter during game two of the 2026 NBA Finals at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

Marc Stein Reports on "Negotiations" Between Mavericks, Jalen Brunson in 2022

NBA insider Marc Stein went on the "All NBA" podcast, where he reported on those failed negotiatins ahead of the 2022 trade deadline.

"The Brunson camp basically laughed at them and said, 'Uh, we'll take our chances in free agency now, you guys had your chance," Stein said. "...The Mavs still had the option at that point of picking up the phone and saying, 'Jalen, we completely screwed this up, we are deeply sorry, we've disrespected you, we want to make this right, we're going to offer you 150 over five.' They even could have gone to 175 over five... They had the wherewithal to give Jalen Brunson a blow-away offer, and they didn't do it."

It would've been pretty ridiculous to offer Brunson $150 million at that point, even if he's lived up to the contract since then. The Knicks caught a lot of criticism for giving him $104 million over four years, and Brunson wasn't that level of player at that point.

Brunson deserves all of the big contracts he'll get for the rest of his career, but he may not have blossomed into the player he became had he continued to play next to Luka Doncic. It's just a shame the Mavericks couldn't get anything in return in a trade rather than losing him for free.

The Brunson camp reportedly "laughed" at the Mavericks when Dallas tried to offer him a 4-year, $55M extension near the 2022 trade deadline, per @TheSteinLine

"The Brunson camp basically laughed at them and said, 'Uh, we'll take our chances in free agency now, you guys had your… pic.twitter.com/fff142MOgN
— NBA Base (@TheNBABase) June 6, 2026

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