It is very unusual to see an owner show his face for a conversation with a former player of his team. But what if someone expected that from a guy like Mark Cuban. Who, among other things, is no longer the de facto owner and has recently ceased to have the final say in the decision-making process. The fact is that the Dallas Mavericks coach accepted a face-to-face meeting with Jalen Brunson because of his departure in 2022 for the New York Knicks. He did it even in hostile territory ’cause the billionaire attended the podcast that the point guard and his teammate Josh Hart did together: Roommates show up.
Cuban and Brunson also discussed other topics. But the most famous thing is listening to them talk about the bad transition. The two essentially admitted that there was no real communication between the two sides during the period leading up to the opening of free agency. And the beginning of this already happened with Brunson in the Big Apple and Cuba asking him if he had the opportunity to go there and discuss an extension. That the answer is, usually, no. A max contract could change things, but Dallas doesn’t want to offer it.
Afterwards, the coach and player explained that they remained in conversation and that there were no hard feelings. Although Brunson took the opportunity to discredit his comments about Rick Brunson’s involvement in the signing. That Cuban reluctantly apologized. “All’s well that ends well,” Cuban said, referring to the success of the Texas team and the base since the split. Some reached the NBA Finals last season and some became the leader of the best Knicks so far this century and an All-NBA.