How the Brooklyn Nets Could've Had Jalen Brunson

Jalen Brunson recently helped the New York Knicks win their first championship in 53 years, earning Finals MVP.

Before Brunson helped transform the Knicks into a powerhouse, the world was starting to see just what he was capable of on the game's biggest stage with the Dallas Mavericks.

In hindsight, several teams likely regret passing on Brunson, who ultimately fell to No. 33 in the 2018 NBA Draft.

The Brooklyn Nets very well could've been one of those teams, as they had the No. 29 pick, which they used on Džanan Musa.

Though the Nets were seemingly all set at point guard at that time, with D'Angelo Russell and Spencer Dinwiddie manning the position, Brunson still could've gotten meaningful reps on an up-and-coming team and mixed and matched nicely with Russell and Dinwiddie's skillsets.

Had Brunson remained in Brooklyn through the arrival of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, he could've provided valuable depth and stability whenever Irving was unavailable.

Assuming Brunson wasn't going out in any potential James Harden trade, he also could've gotten meaningful run on that superteam, especially with Dinwiddie out of the picture and the Nets' Big 3 dealing with their own injuries and other circumstances.

If the Nets had seen something in Brunson, perhaps they could've looked to build their future around him after the failed KD and Kyrie experiment.

Instead, Brunson saw tremendous growth alongside Luka Dončić in their four years together in Dallas, but because the Mavericks weren't willing to sign Brunson to a four-year, $55 million extension before the 2021-22 season, according to ESPN's Tim MacMahon, that opened the door for the Knicks to swoop in and offer a four-year, $104 million deal to make the Villanova product their starting point guard.

However, if Brunson had decided to extend his stay in Texas, there seems to be a chance he could've ended up on the other New York team.

"The funny thing is, if Brunson signs that extension with Dallas, I think there is a high likelihood that he would be with the Brooklyn Nets right now," MacMahon said. "Mark Cuban has always been about chasing stars. But, I think there's a decent chance that Jalen Brunson would have been moved to Brooklyn with Kyrie Irving still ending up in Dallas."

At this point, all the Nets can do is move forward and either draft their next Brunson or land a two-time MVP.

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