NBA rumors: Details emerge of Knicks, Mavericks’ failed Jalen Brunson trade talks

As the New York Knicks prepare for their first NBA Finals appearance since 1999, new details have emerged regarding failed 2022 trade discussions between the Knicks and the Dallas Mavericks involving star guard Jalen Brunson before he eventually signed in free agency later that offseason.

According to The Athletic’s Fred Katz, Dallas and New York engaged in trade talks ahead of the 2022 NBA trade deadline after concerns grew within the Mavericks organization that the Knicks were positioning themselves to aggressively pursue Brunson once free agency opened.

Katz reported that Dallas viewed New York as the franchise’s primary competition for Brunson, particularly because of the longstanding relationships between the Brunson family and several key Knicks figures.

“As the 2022 trade deadline approached, murmurs reached Dallas that the Knicks were on the verge of hiring Brunson’s father, Rick, as an assistant for head coach Tom Thibodeau, the same role Rick had held in Thibodeau’s two previous stops with the Chicago Bulls and Minnesota Timberwolves,” Katz wrote Monday. “The relationships in New York already existed. Knicks president Leon Rose was Rick’s agent and the Brunsons’ closest family friend.”

Katz also noted Brunson’s familiarity with Thibodeau stretched back to childhood.

“Jalen had known Thibodeau for so long that he could not recall the first time the two met because, whenever it happened, he was literally too young to form memories.”

At the time, the Mavericks believed New York’s projected salary cap situation could complicate a free-agent pursuit for Brunson during the upcoming offseason. That belief prompted Dallas to explore the possibility of negotiating a trade directly with the Knicks before risking losing Brunson for nothing months later.

“So, the Mavs made a call,” Katz wrote.

“Not long before the 2022 trade deadline, they and the Knicks began negotiations on a deal that would have brought Brunson to New York, league sources told The Athletic.”

Mavericks wanted picks in failed Jalen Brunson talks with Knicks

According to Katz, multiple frameworks were discussed during negotiations. The Mavericks reportedly showed interest in several young Knicks players, including Immanuel Quickley and Quentin Grimes.

“One included young bench guard Immanuel Quickley. Another incorporated promising rookie Quentin Grimes,” Katz wrote. “Numerous other iterations emerged. But across all of them was one common denominator: The Mavericks wanted first-round picks.”

More specifically, Dallas reportedly sought the return of its own future first-round selections that had previously been sent to New York in the controversial 2019 Kristaps Porzingis trade.

Katz noted the Knicks remained hesitant to part with those picks given the criticism the organization had already faced following the Porziņģis deal.

“The Porziņģis trade was another gaffe to add to the list,” Katz wrote while describing New York’s struggles during that era.

Ultimately, no agreement materialized, and Brunson signed with New York as a free agent during the 2022 offseason. The move has since transformed the franchise. Brunson has led the Knicks to consecutive Eastern Conference Finals appearances and now has the organization four wins away from its first NBA championship since 1973.

The Knicks’ current Finals run has further elevated Jalen Brunson’s standing across the league, particularly after the New York Knicks completed a sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals earlier this week. New York has now won 11 consecutive playoff games, including closeout victories over the Atlanta Hawks by 51 points in the first round, the Philadelphia 76ers by 30 points in the second round and Cleveland by 37 points in the conference finals.

The post NBA rumors: Details emerge of Knicks, Mavericks’ failed Jalen Brunson trade talks appeared first on ClutchPoints.