The Dallas Mavericks' decision to delay Jalen Brunson's contract extension in 2021 stemmed from concerns about his defensive fit alongside Luka Doncic and uncertainty over whether the team could afford to retain both Brunson and wing Dorian Finney-Smith, according to team sources cited by ESPN.

When the two played together, opposing teams targeted both guards defensively, exposing the pairing in the Mavericks' first-round playoff loss to the LA Clippers in 2020. If one had to sit for defensive reasons, it was always going to be Brunson. Teams around the league began calling Dallas regularly to inquire about his availability soon after that series, per league and Mavericks sources.

The Mavericks told Brunson they preferred to wait until after the 2021-22 season before offering an extension, wanting to assess whether the group could genuinely contend for a championship. By then, Brunson had emerged as a starter alongside Doncic and averaged 27.8 points in a first-round series win over Utah while Doncic nursed an injury.

Dallas ultimately offered Brunson and Finney-Smith identical extensions after the trade deadline with Brunson declining.

What the Mavericks failed to recognize, according to one team source, was the depth of Brunson's connection to the Knicks organization, where president Leon Rose had previously represented both Jalen and his father Rick as an agent, and where Rick was hired as an assistant coach weeks before free agency began.

"I think Jalen had a loyalty to the Mavs because they'd drafted him, but the Knicks were his actual family," said the Mavericks source. "I don't think we fully grasped that."

Brunson signed a four-year, $105 million deal with New York in 2022.

The Mavericks traded Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in February 2025.