Mark Cuban Has A Qualm With Rick Brunson
Mark Cuban is putting egg on his face. The Dallas Mavericks owner is now going after Rick Brunson for potentially influencing his son, Jalen, to leave the Mavs for the New York Knicks. With their season in freefall, the Shark Tank personality stooped to new lows.
What is the point? Why even bother? Yes, the absence of Brunson has been felt in Dallas. But you’ve had months to bring this up. Wouldn’t it have been more helpful to say something in July or August, Mark? Make it make sense.
The former national champion at Villanova has been a sensation at MSG. Despite barely missing the 2023 All-Star Game, Jalen Brunson has been a catalyst for the Knicks, locking in the No. 5-seed in the Eastern Conference. The fifth-year guard is averaging career-highs in scoring (24 ppg), playmaking (6.2 apg), and shooting (41.6% 3-PT). I don’t think anyone could doubt Brunson’s talent and work ethic. Being the lead guard for a championship team in college doesn’t happen overnight.
However, chemistry aside, the fit started to deteriorate in Dallas. For reference, Luka Doncic is second in the NBA with a 37.6 usage percentage. Meanwhile, Brunson has been playing at a borderline All-NBA level with the ball in his hands considerably more as a Knick. That comes with Julius Randle being Mo. 12 on that list at 29.5 percent.
Long story short, Brunson can play winning team basketball without dominating the ball. There were glimpses of this in Dallas, especially in the 2022 postseason when they reached the Western Conference Finals.
Throwing Stones In A Glass House
I can’t understand what Cuban is trying to achieve here. At the very least, he could have tried paying the man.
One more thing, though. We’ve already heard about the chemistry issues Dallas is dealing with nowadays. In the past 365 days, there is a lot of evidence to point Cuban as the reason for that. Along with losing Brunson, they rocked the boat with the Christian Wood trade on 2022 draft night. They gave up four guys from last year’s team, including Luka’s good buddy in Boban Marjanovic.
Cuban then doubles down on it with the Kyrie deal. They lose two valuable role players and locker room guys in Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith. We all know how talented Kyrie Irving is, but I can’t imagine the perception other players have of him these days is ideal.
Once again, Mark Cuban is playing a losing game here. Jalen Brunson is a guy the New York Knicks wanted for a very long time. They even broke the rules to make sure they could land him. The Mavericks were given a chance to bring him back, and they decided not to take it. Instead of crying over spilt milk, I suggest trying to find a way to fix this mess of a season you’re in.
