Mavs’ Mark Cuban Apologizes to Jalen Brunson for ‘Parents’ Jab After Knicks Contract

Adam WellsAugust 30, 2024

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Dallas Mavericks governor Mark Cuban has issued an apology to Jalen Brunson for taking a swipe at Brunson’s father, Rick, following failed contract talks between the two sides in 2023.

Appearing on the Roommates Show podcast (starts at 45:45 mark), Cuban offered the apology during an awkward exchange with Brunson.

“I apologize,” he said. “If I put you in a certain way, that wasn’t the intention. But it was hard to deal with. It was a unique negotiation in a lot of different ways.”

The topic came up after Cuban told reporters in April 2023 that the Mavs were never given a fair shot to re-sign Brunson when Rick Brunson, who has been an assistant coach for the New York Knicks since June 2022, got involved.

“Where it went south was when Rick took over, when the parent took over, or parents took over,” Cuban said.

Brunson said on the podcast he “didn’t like” when Cuban brought his parents into the equation.

“The only thing I didn’t like about the whole situation was when Mark said, ‘When the parents got involved, that’s when things got messy,'” Brunson said. “That was the one thing I was like —I kinda was like, damn, that was a little jab.”

That was when Cuban offered his apology.

Brunson spent the first four seasons of his career with the Mavericks. He said publicly he would have signed a four-year, $55 million extension if the team offered it to him during the 2021-22 season, but the Mavs declined in order to keep their options open.

Tommy Beer @TommyBeerJalen Brunson goes on record to confirm he twice approached the Mavericks willing to sign a four-year, $55 million contract extension – but was rejected both times by Dallas.

(via @allthesmokeprod)pic.twitter.com/xjtbVn59mR

Cuban disputed that Brunson was willing to accept that offer in his April 2023 comments, including reading text messages from Mavs general manager Nico Harrison and Brunson’s agent Aaron Mintz from January and February 2022.

One of the messages Cuban read mentioned that Rick Brunson was expecting his son to receive a contract offer in the range of $18-23 million per season as a free agent.

The $55 million extension was the maximum Brunson could have received from the Mavs if he signed prior to hitting free agency.

Following the 2021-22 season, Brunson joined the New York Knicks on a four-year, $104 million contract.

Things have worked out for everyone involved, though it took time for the Mavs to bounce back. Cuban’s initial comments came as the team was wrapping up a season in which they missed the playoffs with a 38-44 record.

After acquiring Kyrie Irving from the Brooklyn Nets in February 2023 and selecting Dereck Lively II with the No. 12 pick in the 2023 NBA draft, the Mavericks won 50 games last season and advanced to the NBA Finals before losing to the Boston Celtics.

The Knicks have made the playoffs in each of Brunson’s first two seasons with the club. Their 50 wins last season were the most for the team since 2012-13 (54-28).