When Jalen Brunson signed with the Knicks in free agency it was hardly a surprise. Team president Leon Rose is his former agent, his father, Rick, is a member of coach Tom Thibodeau’s staff and he spent his formative years in the Northeast.
The Mavericks were also among those who saw it coming — the point guard called off a meeting with Dallas, among others, before agreeing to a four-year, $104 million deal with New York — which is why they didn’t rush out to try to replace him.
“We can’t replace Brunson,” Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd told ESPN Friday in his first comments since losing the 25-year-old rising star who averaged a career-high 16.3 points and 4.8 assists last season. “He’s a great player. I’m happy for him and his family, signing a deal in New York. It’s well-deserved. We wanted him back, but he picked New York.”
And, at least for now, Kidd will choose to play with the hand he has.
For one, the Mavericks are over the salary cap and don’t have the means to land a player of Brunson’s caliber. For another, they have Spencer Dinwiddie and Tim Hardaway Jr., who is due back after fracturing his left foot in January, in their back court.
They also traded for big man Christian Wood (17.9 points, 10.1 rebounds) in June and signed free agent veteran center JaVale McGee (9.2 points, 6.7 rebounds), who is expected to start next season.
“When you talk about Christian Wood and Tim Hardaway coming back, everybody’s asked this question, and we believe the points will be there,” Kidd added. “And we believe we’re gonna be a bigger team. Nothing against JB’s height, but with Spencer starting, our starting five is gonna be big, with JaVale starting at the center and then we’re gonna have a lot more offense coming off the bench.”
One rumored addition, according to multiple reports, was former All-NBA point guard Goran Dragic, but he signed with the Bulls.
The Mavs did, however, trade back into the draft to select 20-year-old point guard Jaden Hardy out of the G League. Last season, the 6-foot-4 former McDonald’s All-American averaged 17.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists for the Ignite. Dallas also retained guard Theo Pinson, who averaged just 2.5 points in fewer than eight minutes per game last season but proved a valuable bench presence.
And, of course, they still have one of the game’s best players in Luka Doncic, who last August signed a five-year, $207 million rookie extension before leading Dallas to the Western Conference final.
Still, without Brunson, the Mavericks will look very different next season.