How Much Is Jalen Brunson Worth In The Offseason?

[arkuo]

Im surprised some Mavs fans are still of the belief that Brunson cant play with Luka.

You make it work, you dont let a talent like Brunson walk. Your not finding better elsewhere.

Some Mavs fans still think they are going to sign some superstar to come play next to Luka. The Mavs won’t have the cap space to sign one of the elite free agents and those “fans” don’t realize the only way to obtain a star player is to groom him from within or trade for one. In order to trade for one you need assets. Best case scenario Brunson becomes that second star, worst case scenario he becomes a trade asset. Either way you don’t let Brunson walk (which Nico Harrison won’t do).

Yes. Best case scenario is when Nico trades for a 2nd star. An outright signing is unlikely given the cap situation and Dallas competing with LA and South Beach for talent.

[41Dirk41]

Not a second star but Grant could be great in this roster.

[Mavrelous]

Luka doesn't need 2nd star, he needs finishers and defenders, and Brunson learned the offensive system well and can fill in for Luka.
Luka/Brunson/3rd good guard (Dinwiddie right now) + players who can defend, shoot and rebound is enough.
Sign Brunson to reasonable deal (anything from 80 to 100), and go shop for a normal big.

[arkuo]

I would disagree. When you have to face Lebron + AD, or the whole GSW warriors team, or if you find yourself lucky to face Giannis, Middleton and Holiday in the finals, or Jimmy Butler, Adebayo and Oladipo and the Heat, you would need a 2nd star whether you like it or not. I understand the disappointment of some Luka fans because it would affect his touches but it would be better for the team overall. You cant expect Luka to carry and get 40 point triple doubles every night to bail you out. That's not sustainable.

[41Dirk41]

Luka needs a C and a strong wing who can creates own shoots.

I like Brunson but i think Dinwiddie+THJ from the bench can replace his role.
Jalen is better without Doncic but Luka plays 40+ minutes a game, he is wasted here.

Probably the best thing for Dallas and for him it's to be traded.

[Mr B]

I would disagree. When you have to face Lebron + AD, or the whole GSW warriors team, or if you find yourself lucky to face Giannis, Middleton and Holiday in the finals, or Jimmy Butler, Adebayo and Oladipo and the Heat, you would need a 2nd star whether you like it or not. I understand the disappointment of some Luka fans because it would affect his touches but it would be better for the team overall. You cant expect Luka to carry and get 40 point triple doubles every night to bail you out. That's not sustainable.

No, you need to be able to defend those guys. If you can’t stop them it won’t matter how many stars you have on the team.

[arkuo]

I would disagree. When you have to face Lebron + AD, or the whole GSW warriors team, or if you find yourself lucky to face Giannis, Middleton and Holiday in the finals, or Jimmy Butler, Adebayo and Oladipo and the Heat, you would need a 2nd star whether you like it or not. I understand the disappointment of some Luka fans because it would affect his touches but it would be better for the team overall. You cant expect Luka to carry and get 40 point triple doubles every night to bail you out. That's not sustainable.

No, you need to be able to defend those guys. If you can’t stop them it won’t matter how many stars you have on the team.

Oh I definitely agree. Getting another 2 way wing that is an all star would be real nice. Magic had Worthy. MJ had Pippen. Luka needs a secondary star that is lengthy and can play both ends. That's what I meant.

[Mr B]

I would disagree. When you have to face Lebron + AD, or the whole GSW warriors team, or if you find yourself lucky to face Giannis, Middleton and Holiday in the finals, or Jimmy Butler, Adebayo and Oladipo and the Heat, you would need a 2nd star whether you like it or not. I understand the disappointment of some Luka fans because it would affect his touches but it would be better for the team overall. You cant expect Luka to carry and get 40 point triple doubles every night to bail you out. That's not sustainable.

No, you need to be able to defend those guys. If you can’t stop them it won’t matter how many stars you have on the team.

Oh I definitely agree. Getting another 2 way wing that is an all star would be real nice. Magic had Worthy. MJ had Pippen. Luka needs a secondary star that is lengthy and can play both ends. That's what I meant.

They definitely need another lengthy 3/D wing but they also need a big that can adequately defend (or at least bother) the elite bigs in the NBA (not just the West). It will be interesting to see what Nico does this off season to improve the team.

[Darren]

No, you need to be able to defend those guys. If you can’t stop them it won’t matter how many stars you have on the team.

Oh I definitely agree. Getting another 2 way wing that is an all star would be real nice. Magic had Worthy. MJ had Pippen. Luka needs a secondary star that is lengthy and can play both ends. That's what I meant.

They definitely need another lengthy 3/D wing but they also need a big that can adequately defend (or at least bother) the elite bigs in the NBA (not just the West). It will be interesting to see what Nico does this off season to improve the team.

I think Brunson for Bamba makes sense for both teams. Clearly, Brunson is still better player at this point. But Bamba is potentially better two wayed player. Orlando may pick to retain either Bamba or Carter. I think the Mavs could be in mix.

[41Dirk41]

Luka and Brunson can't play together, it's pretty clear.

[Apz]

wcj would bd nice. BMba kinda sucks

[arkuo]

Jayson Tatum got a Jalen Brown. Luka needs a similar wing. Brunson is no Jaylen Brown. I don't think he's worth $120M for 4 years IMO.

[Mavrelous]

Brunson is a great player with the right matchup, if the team had a rebounder and rim protector, we'll be singing a different tune.
Don't throw players under the bus because of a series where the team is completely overmatched, Kidd risked his starters in the last game of RS specifically to avoid this matchup as long as he can.

[41Dirk41]

Brunson is a great player with the right matchup, if the team had a rebounder and rim protector, we'll be singing a different tune.
Don't throw players under the bus because of a series where the team is completely overmatched, Kidd risked his starters in the last game of RS specifically to avoid this matchup as long as he can.

Ok but you can see the real value of a player when he faces the wrong match up... Last years Clips and this Suns are real contender and we see that he can't play.

He is too short, with that size you can be effective ad high level only if you are CP3. And he is not.

I'm sure he will have a good carrier leading a bad team like Detroit or Orlando. But nothing more.

Immagine Grant and Turner instead than Brunson and Powell

[Mavrelous]

Brunson is a great player with the right matchup, if the team had a rebounder and rim protector, we'll be singing a different tune.
Don't throw players under the bus because of a series where the team is completely overmatched, Kidd risked his starters in the last game of RS specifically to avoid this matchup as long as he can.

Ok but you can see the real value of a player when he faces the wrong match up... Last years Clips and this Suns are real contender and we see that he can't play.

He is too short, with that size you can be effective ad high level only if you are CP3. And he is not.

I'm sure he will have a good carrier leading a bad team like Detroit or Orlando. But nothing more.

Immagine Grant and Turner instead than Brunson and Powell

Absolutely the team needs more talent, and if Turner or Grant are available for the right deal, do it, if not, I'm happy to have Brunson backing up Luka.

[Archx]

Brunson is a great player with the right matchup, if the team had a rebounder and rim protector, we'll be singing a different tune.
Don't throw players under the bus because of a series where the team is completely overmatched, Kidd risked his starters in the last game of RS specifically to avoid this matchup as long as he can.

Ok but you can see the real value of a player when he faces the wrong match up... Last years Clips and this Suns are real contender and we see that he can't play.

He is too short, with that size you can be effective ad high level only if you are CP3. And he is not.

I'm sure he will have a good carrier leading a bad team like Detroit or Orlando. But nothing more.

Immagine Grant and Turner instead than Brunson and Powell

100% agree with you, perfectly said. I actually feel bad for Brunson, he's one of my favourite Mavs players and is a really cool guy. But star players find a way to contribute even in the most difficult matches or circumstances. We can't rely on Luka to be Wilt and Jordan at the same time in every possible game.

I'll kinda go back to what i was thinking before the playoffs, max 20M for Brunson and if he wants more, do a sign and trade. We have now 3 years of evidence on what Brunson can do and can not do.
Well, unless he completely turns it around and starts dominating like he did vs Jazz, then i'll be more than happy to say he just had 2 stinker games

[Bob8]

I said it before, Brunson is not starter for Mavs. He should get exactly what Mavs can afford for a player, who is running second unit.

[wco81]

On paper it's true you want someone bigger to be a shot creator alternative to Luka.

However, the Mavs wouldn't be tied at 2-2 against the Suns if not for Brunson.

They may not have beaten the Jazz if not for Brunson either, depending on when Luka would have come back and how well he played.

Brunson's play in the Utah series may have bought Luka a game or two, which is almost an additional week. That may have allowed him to recover and account for his performance vs. the Suns.

I don't know what kind of cap space the Mavs have next season and beyond. But they have a really team-friendly deal for DFS. But the contracts for THJ and Bertans may be tough.

At this point, does Brunson getting say $18 million a year for 4 years vs. $25 million a year for 4 years matter as far as the Mavs' ability to add players who would command $10-15 million a year?

If that extra $7 million doesn't clear enough cap space, then you're arguing how much luxury tax Cuban has to pay.

[Archx]

On paper it's true you want someone bigger to be a shot creator alternative to Luka.

However, the Mavs wouldn't be tied at 2-2 against the Suns if not for Brunson.

They may not have beaten the Jazz if not for Brunson either, depending on when Luka would have come back and how well he played.

Brunson's play in the Utah series may have bought Luka a game or two, which is almost an additional week. That may have allowed him to recover and account for his performance vs. the Suns.

I don't know what kind of cap space the Mavs have next season and beyond. But they have a really team-friendly deal for DFS. But the contracts for THJ and Bertans may be tough.

At this point, does Brunson getting say $18 million a year for 4 years vs. $25 million a year for 4 years matter as far as the Mavs' ability to add players who would command $10-15 million a year?

If that extra $7 million doesn't clear enough cap space, then you're arguing how much luxury tax Cuban has to pay.

Mavs have ZERO cap even if they don't sign Brunson. So if they let him go it would be literally for nothing. Cuban made a mistake when Jalen's dad wanted around 15M per year and Mavs said no, now they'll have to pay a much bigger price. It basically means if they don't trade THJ, Dinwiddie, Bertans they can't do anything with the roster. It will be really hard to move those pieces as they are mostly negative players. But anything is possible, we'll see. Only thing clear is the fact that Mavs will pay around 100/4 for Brunson... well, depending on how this series with Suns ends but he won't be cheaper than 20M per year, that's for sure.

[wco81]

On paper it's true you want someone bigger to be a shot creator alternative to Luka.

However, the Mavs wouldn't be tied at 2-2 against the Suns if not for Brunson.

They may not have beaten the Jazz if not for Brunson either, depending on when Luka would have come back and how well he played.

Brunson's play in the Utah series may have bought Luka a game or two, which is almost an additional week. That may have allowed him to recover and account for his performance vs. the Suns.

I don't know what kind of cap space the Mavs have next season and beyond. But they have a really team-friendly deal for DFS. But the contracts for THJ and Bertans may be tough.

At this point, does Brunson getting say $18 million a year for 4 years vs. $25 million a year for 4 years matter as far as the Mavs' ability to add players who would command $10-15 million a year?

If that extra $7 million doesn't clear enough cap space, then you're arguing how much luxury tax Cuban has to pay.

Mavs have ZERO cap even if they don't sign Brunson. So if they let him go it would be literally for nothing. Cuban made a mistake when Jalen's dad wanted around 15M per year and Mavs said no, now they'll have to pay a much bigger price. It basically means if they don't trade THJ, Dinwiddie, Bertans they can't do anything with the roster. It will be really hard to move those pieces as they are mostly negative players. But anything is possible, we'll see. Only thing clear is the fact that Mavs will pay around 100/4 for Brunson... well, depending on how this series with Suns ends but he won't be cheaper than 20M per year, that's for sure.

If they beat the Suns, that would be clear progress and a reason to keep the roster, though getting rid of bad contracts would help.

They won their first series with this Luka core just a week or two ago and they're competing with the top seed in the league.

It may come down to how sustainable this hot shooting is. They were hot in the first couple of games vs. the Clippers last year and then cooled way down. They shot really well vs. the Jazz and then were cold in the first two games vs. the Suns and then shot the lights out in the last two games.

If they could get consistent 37-38% or better as a team from 3, they would be as competitive as any team. Would be good to have a defensive 4/5 but then again, surrounding Luka with shooters including a couple of defensive wings can work very well.

Question is how sustainable is the hot shooting? And who creates shots for himself or others when Luka sits? Yeah if Brunson was 4 inches taller he'd be ideal. But then his body type might not be as stout for him to sort of bully players 6-3 and under.