Jalen Brunson confronted former Mavericks proprietor Mark Cuban about the “jab” at his dad and mom after he signed with the Knicks in the summertime of 2022.
Cuban appeared on the podcast the All-Star level guard hosts with teammate Josh Hart and mentioned “I apologize” when Brunson talked about how the familial diss bothered him.
“The one factor that I … didn’t like about the entire state of affairs was when Mark mentioned, ‘When the dad and mom received concerned, that’s when issues received messy,” Brunson mentioned on this week’s episode of The Roommates Present. “In order that was the one factor that I used to be like, I kinda was like, ‘Rattling that was a bit jab.’”
Brunson was drafted within the 2018 second spherical by the Mavericks out of Villanova and spent 4 seasons in Dallas earlier than signing a four-year deal value $104 million with the Knicks two summers in the past — shortly after New York had added his father, Rick Brunson, to Tom Thibodeau’s teaching employees.
Cuban, who offered his majority stake within the Mavs final yr to on line casino mogul Miriam Adelson and her household, had mentioned in April 2023 that negotiations to retain Brunson “went south, when Rick took over, or the dad and mom took over.”
Cuban initially responded that he “didn’t wish to go there” on the podcast, and mentioned “there’s no motive for us to speak about any of that stuff” and “it wasn’t a jab in any respect” earlier than ultimately expressing his remorse to Brunson.
“I apologize, if it put you in a sure method, that wasn’t the intention,” mentioned Cuban, who nonetheless owns a minority stake within the Mavericks. “Nevertheless it was arduous to take care of. It was a novel negotiation in plenty of other ways.
“There’s undoubtedly no arduous emotions in any respect. Nevertheless it’s at all times fascinating when your dad and I stroll by one another, you already know, it’s similar to he provides me the attention, I give him the attention, then we smile after which carry on strolling, proper? And so all is nicely and ends nicely…I’m glad for you, the king of New York, and I’m glad for us.”
The Knicks ultimately had been docked a 2025 second-round choose for tampering, however Brunson has emerged as one of many prime gamers within the NBA over his two seasons, main them to the second spherical of the playoffs in back-to-back years.
After he averaged a career-best 28.7 factors and 6.7 assists per recreation to complete fifth in league MVP voting final season, Brunson signed a four-year contract extension value $156.5 million in July.
He might have waited a yr and inked a deal value as a lot as $269 million subsequent summer season, leaving about $113 million on the desk.
The Knicks acquired Brunson’s former Villanova teammate Mikal Bridges within the offseason, however they misplaced beginning heart Isaiah Hartenstein to the Thunder through free company.
“I might say it’s the identical negotiation that we simply went by with Isaiah. I might say it’s fairly related,” Brunson mentioned of his departure from Dallas. “It’s over and performed with. We’re right here now, and that’s that.”
Led by All-Star guards Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, the Mavericks made the NBA Finals in 2024, one yr after they’d tanked on the finish of the 2022-23 season to overlook the playoffs.
The Mavericks had been dominated to have rested gamers late within the season to take care of a top-10 protected choose from their 2019 commerce with the Knicks for Kristaps Porzingis they usually had been fined $750,000 for “conduct detrimental to the league.”
