As Brunson had a phenomenal season and was selected as an All-Star without any suspense. The topic of Brunson's departure from the Mavericks two years ago has been stirred up again, and Brunson himself has once again recreated the original appearance of his departure from the Mavericks.
In Brunson's fourth season with the Mavericks, before the season began, Brunson and his team approached Mavericks management and asked for a four-year, $55 million contract. The previous season, Brunson was already averaging 126 points 34 rebounds and 35 assists.
But the Mavericks rejected Brunson's request, and the Mavericks chose to execute Brunson's fourth-year rookie contract, in order to extend Brunson's rookie bonus for another year, so they did not choose to renew Brunson's contract early.
Since Brunson is a second-round pick, if the home team executes his fourth-year contract, then Brunson will be a full free agent in the offseason and can go wherever he wants. Such a move also laid the groundwork for Brunson to leave the Mavericks.
It's just that Brunson didn't have the idea of leaving Dallas at the time. In the middle of the season, when Doncic was injured, Brunson led the team to an average of 20+ performances per game. He and his agent approached Mavericks management again and offered the 4-year, $55 million contract** again, and the Mavericks turned Brunson down again.
At the time, Brunson thought he would be traded before the trade deadline, but after the trade deadline, the Mavericks did not choose to trade Brunson. Instead, he was given a **, but Brunson's reply at the time was: "No, I'm worth more money now." ”
We all know the rest of the story, Brunson single-handedly led the team to eliminate the Jazz in the first round with Doncic injured, and made a splash in the playoffs. The Knicks had long been eyeing Brunson and had Brunson's father on the team in advance. As soon as the offseason arrived, the Knicks offered Brunson a four-year one0.4 billion USD**.
The Mavericks also offered Brunson a 100 million dollar contract, but Brunson was determined to leave there. And just like that, the Mavericks lost a future All-Star guard. Although Brunson will most likely not become an All-Star if he stays with the Mavericks, with the improvement he has shown in the past two years, the devil knows what the Mavericks have lost.
Ironically, 20 years ago, a similar plot was played out in the Mavericks, who were still called Mavericks at the time. When Cuban first took over the Mavericks, Steve Nash was a modest point guard plagued by injuries, but soon Nash ushered in a career explosion.
In the 00-01 season, after establishing the role of the Mavericks' starting point guard, Nash averaged 156 points 73 assists. Over the next two seasons, Nash went one step further and became a Western Conference All-Star for two years in a row.
But in the crucial contract year, the 03-04 season, Nash's performance slipped slightly, averaging 145 points 88 assists. He focused more on playmaking and took fewer shots, and his shooting efficiency dropped slightly.
Still, Nash has kept his three-point shooting percentage above 40 percent for five consecutive seasons. But in the eyes of the Mavericks' management, Nash's scoring ability and shooting ability are already in a declining stage.
Nash in '04 is over 30 years old, and many in Mavericks management don't think that Nash's career can continue to pick up. Of course, the management at the time was not thinking about whether to keep Nash, but how much money to give him.
This issue has plagued Cuban for a long time, and since mid-season the Mavericks have been discussing an early contract extension with a 12% annual increase in his current annual salary. But at that time, Nash's annual salary was only more than 5 million, and he had become an All-Star guard twice, so such a contract was too little.
In the offseason, Cuban and general manager Nelson gave Nash a four-year, 40 million ** after discussion. After the two of them played Nash **, they thought they were nine out of ten, and they didn't think about what happened next.
It didn't take long for Nash to tell Cuban that he had received a five-year, $65 million ** from the Suns. Since Nash is a restricted free agent, the Mavericks can match any team that gives Nash a contract, so Cuban had to urgently convene a management meeting to discuss whether to match the contract.
However, most members of the management agreed that Nash was past his prime, and that it was not worth the team to spend so much money on it. Cuban listened to the advice of the majority, and then made a decision that he regretted for the rest of his life - to abandon Steve Nash.
Brunson became an All-Star in his second season away from the Mavericks, and Nash became an MVP in his first season away from the Mavericks. The season before getting Nash, the Suns won 29; In the first season after getting Nash, the Suns won 62 and the bombardment tactics swept the league. In his second season, Nash became a two-star MVP.
Of course, in 2011, the Mavericks won the championship earlier than Nash. But if Cuban matched the 65 million contract at that time, would the Mavericks win the championship earlier, and would they win the championship more times?
Interestingly, Brunson and Nash both wore No. 13 in Dallas. The course of history is sometimes so interesting.