DALLAS — Jalen Brunson has emerged as one of the NBA’s top guards since signing a four-year, $104 million contract with the New York Knicks in the summer of 2022. He’s further elevated his game this season after having a career year in 2022-23, averaging 27.6 points, 6.5 assists, and 3.8 rebounds in 52 games this season.

Previous reporting suggested the Mavs had a chance to get a four-year, $55 million contract extension done with Brunson before his breakout season, ultimately helping lead the team along with Luka Doncic to the Western Conference Finals in 2022. Brunson recently told his side of the story, including those details.

During an appearance on the “All The Smoke” podcast with former NBA players Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes, Brunson detailed the timeline of events that led to his departure from the Dallas Mavericks before signing with the Knicks while confirming he desired to remain with the team that drafted him.

“I really did want to stay in Dallas,” Brunson said. “I think before my fourth season in Dallas, my last season in Dallas, we tried to extend our contract. Whatever we can get, the most we can get was, like, 4 years and $55 million. We wanted to do that. I wanted to stay there.”

Brunson admitted he thought he would play for the Mavs “for a long time” and enjoyed his role with the team alongside Doncic. His representation with CAA even encouraged him to see what was out there beyond Dallas, while he was more so wanting to get a deal done to be financially secure. However, the Mavs wanted to keep their options open when they had a chance to get a deal done both before and during the 2022-23 season.

“I thought I would be there for a long time, and I liked my role there,” Brunson said. “It’s funny because my agent was like, ‘I mean, you can do so much. You can do you can get more.’ I’m saying, like, ‘Well, I just want to be safe. And I’m not trying to gamble right now. This is not something you can really gamble with if it’s out there.’

“And so, but [the Mavs] were like, ‘We want to see where we’re at like 20, 25 games into the season,” Brunson explained. “But we were like, ‘Alright, well, if we’re not going to do it, I kind of don’t want to do it until after the season. I’m not trying to think about this during the season.”

When Brunson received more opportunities due to an injury to Doncic, he stepped into a starting role and never looked back. He averaged over 20 points and six assists for a stretch and remained the long-term backcourt partner with Doncic going forward. At this time, Brunson still felt there was a chance he’d be traded after he went to the Mavs and checked back in to see if they could get that contract done.

“So there’s a period where Luka went out, and I started to start. I was playing really well. I think I was averaging, 20 [points] and six [assists] maybe,” Brunson said. “It was about that 20, 25 [game] mark. And so we went back. We’re like, ‘Hey, if the deal’s there, we’re thinking about it. I’ll do it. Like, right now.’ Still, it was no. Like, it wasn’t a hard no. The trade deadline comes. I’m thinking, like, well, if I’m not getting extended, I’m probably going to get traded. I think the way I’ve been playing, I’m playing somewhat decent. And so that didn’t happen.”

Just like how the Mavs completed the contract extension with Dorian Finney-Smith, the team waited until after the trade deadline to offer Brunson the deal he felt at that point he’d “outgrown” due to his production. Dallas’ actions signaled wanting to keep both Brunson and Finney-Smith trade eligible in the event a deal they wanted to take came available, but nothing transpired on that front.

“And then, the deal came on the table after the trade deadline. I was like, ‘No. I think I think I’ve outgrown that now.’ Personally, that’s what I thought. I was like, ‘I think I’ve outgrown that.’ Obviously, going to the playoffs, Luka gets hurt, like, second to last game or last game of the season. And so he’s out for the first three games [in the playoff series], and I obviously did what I did. Ain’t no looking back.”