Mavs Coach Had More Faith in Jalen Brunson Than Luka Doncic, Much Before Mark Cuban’s $55M Rejection

A breakthrough has emerged on the Texas side’s two-year-old mistake. While the Mavs have a stacked backcourt with Kyrie Irving now, it seemed like a blunder when they didn’t retain Jalen Brunson. Importantly, they allowed the Knicks guard to slip away despite the star requesting twice via his agent to extend his contract to $55 million for four years. Darrell Armstrong, one of the Mavs’ experienced coaches, also admitted lauding JB’s professionalism and mentality, right before the front office dropped the hammer.

Several months ago, during his feature on All The Smoke Productions, Brunson opened up about his trade extension situation. But, Mark Cuban’s team declined it both times only to change the star’s mind in the latter half of the 2020-21 season. While the NBA world took note of JB’s confession and witnessed him rock the 2024 postseason with NY, Armstrong, who is currently in his 10th year as a Mavs assistant coach, said, “He’s a winner. So I’m picking him right off the bat. I know he knows, and he has a mentality about himself”.

“He’s strong, he understands the game, he understands about winning. He’s professional. This is not surprising that he’s just gone to New York and done what he done because I used to tell him, ‘yo lead… lead because you can play,'” on the latest episode of the Knuckleheads Podcast. Moreover, Armstrong also revealed the exact moment when he thought Jalen Brunson was surely leaving. He added, “I knew he was gone when we played Utah… we still don’t have Luka for the next three games. In game 2, he scores 40, 45, maybe 50. He gone.” During the 2022 NBA Playoffs, JB took the driver’s seat in the first round against the Utah Jazz as Luka Doncic was injured. Brunson scored 41 in Game 2 in front of his future Knicks folks, who were present in the arena, as per Armstrong.

Does the Mavs still miss Jalen Brunson?

If not for this season, they surely missed him until Kyrie Irving took the job. And the Mavs’ backcourt duo go on to make a name for themselves in the history. Luka and Irving became the first backcourt duo in 50 years to drop 30 points each on more than three occasions in a postseason. And the union served them well, as they reached the NBA Finals since their last appearance in 2011.

Looking at the camaraderie between the duo, it doesn’t look like the Mavs will now regret JB’s exit. The thought might cross once maybe after Uncle Drew, if he still stuck himself to the Mavs fold. On the other hand, the Mavs’ rejection of JB’s request has led to two beautiful things in the NBA world. Brunson’s entry into the NY Knicks’ fold has revived the franchise and its fans.

And the team made two back-to-back playoff appearances and almost made it to the Conference Finals, if not for the plaguing injuries. The management formed the team centered around the 6 ‘1 guard and he has delivered the Big Apple City with plenty of joy in his second season. Moreover, the Knicks could get more lethal in the next season, entering the 2024-25 season with a fully healthy roster.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, had to say about WNBA sensation Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, watch this video.