Knicks’ Brunson pursuit casts shadow
DALLAS — At 2:04 a.m. Friday, Mavericks president Nico Harrison finally emerged from the team’s draft room to address the few remaining reporters who rode out the longest draft night/morning in franchise history.
Actually, the “finally” part isn’t entirely accurate. Harrison also surfaced at 12:43 a.m. with a tray of chocolate-covered strawberries as a peace offering for the lengthy wait.
Like the strawberries, the 2022 NBA draft was roughly 80 percent sweet and 20 percent tart for the Mavericks. They were thrilled to finalize their acquisition of Rockets center Christian Wood and pleasantly surprised to trade for No. 37 pick Jaden Hardy, but they were thrust into high alert for a Jalen Brunson-napping by the Knicks.
Draft night always signifies beginnings and renewed optimism, but the Mavericks hope this one won’t be remembered as a case of two steps forward and a significant stumble backward.
Landing 6-10 center Wood is a significant upgrade, especially in terms of offense and rebounding. Hardy is a low-risk, highpotential add but will require patience. However, the Knicks’ flurry of trades to create $16 million to $18 million of salary cap space signals their all-in determination to land Brunson.
“We’re aware of it, but we knew they would do that,” Harrison said of his concern level about losing Brunson. “We weren’t shocked that they did that; they tried to do it at the trade deadline.”
Harrison added that “until he tells us he doesn’t want to be here, we’re optimistic.”
The Mavericks soon will find out.
Free agency begins next Thursday, and the most important advantage when it comes to keeping 25-yearold Brunson is money. As the incumbent team, Dallas can guarantee Brunson a fifth season and a total package of up to $175 million, whereas the Knicks and other teams can offer only four guaranteed seasons.
League rules prevented the Mavericks from commenting on the terms of the Wood acquisition — in exchange for Thursday’s No. 26 pick and seldomused Boban Marjanovic, Trey Burke, Sterling Brown and Marquese Chriss — until after the NBA approved the trade shortly after 2 a.m. Friday.
“Christian gives us something that we don’t have,” Harrison said. “He’s a good rebounder. He’s super athletic. He’ll be great with Luka Doncic in the pick-and-roll. He can play above the rim. He also can shoot.
“He’s an offensive guy at that position.”
Still, Woods’ acquisition isn’t without risk. He’s entering the final year of his contract, at $14.3 million.
“I think we both offer each other a lot,” Harrison said. “So I think we’ll have to do a little bit of showing him, and he’ll have to do a little bit of showing us.”
Hardy, who turns 20 on July 5, has far more to prove, as evidenced by his plummet from lottery-pick consideration to well into the second round.
Harrison said the Mavericks were shocked to see Hardy’s nosedive. According to two sources, Dallas had Hardy in the top 20 on its draft board.
Hardy averaged 30 points, nine rebounds and eight assists as a high school senior and was Nevada’s 2021 player of the year and ESPN’s No. 2ranked recruit behind Chet Holmgren, drafted No. 2 overall by Oklahoma City on Thursday.
Hardy, though, bypassed scholarship offers from Kentucky and UCLA, among others, to play last spring for the G League Ignite, where he averaged 17.7 points but shot just 35 percent in 12 games.
Harrison closely followed Hardy’s high school career, and last December he saw a lot of Hardy in person at the G League Showcase in Las Vegas.
“He’s a scorer,” Harrison said. “He’s been a scorer his whole life. But I think when you take a kid that doesn’t go to college and tries the G League Ignite and is playing with older, more mature people and see him develop ... it just shows you what he can become.”
As for Brunson, New York’s trading out of Thursday night’s first round while shedding Kemba Walker’s salary and its recent hiring of Brunson’s father, Rick, as an assistant coach should concern Dallas, even if Harrison won’t publicly admit it.
No amount of chocolatecovered strawberries could sugarcoat the bitterness of losing Brunson for nothing.