Jalen Brunson injury update, New York Knicks, Mark Cuban, Dallas Mavericks
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Jalen Brunson joined the New York Knicks in 2022, but despite losing him, ex-Mavericks owner Mark Cuban hasn't gone down without a fight.
Jalen Brunson joined the New York Knicks in the summer of 2022 and has since led the team to theirgreatest heights of this century.
However, Brunson’s departure from the Dallas Maverickswas reportedly amajor turning point in the internal structureof the organization. Quickly on his rise to becoming an All-Star and All-NBA level player, the Mavericks lost the guard in free agency, breaking up his partnership with then-franchise superstar Luka Doncic.
Detailed in a new article on the internal battle between former team owner Mark Cuban and former general manager Nico Harrison, Tim McMahon of ESPN reported thatthe former was blamed for why Dallas lost Brunson.
NBACentral
Nico Harrison reportedly blames Mark Cuban for the Mavericks losing important players like Christian Wood and Jalen Brunson, per @BannedMacMahon
“Harrison blamed Cuban for what he believed were the Mavs’ biggest personnel mistakes during his tenure, which came in summer 2022:
“Harrison blamed Cuban for what he believed were the Mavs’ biggest personnel mistakes during his tenure, which came in summer 2022: allowing Jalen Brunson to get away in free agency and trading for Christian Wood, a player Kidd didn’t want to coach and resented having on the roster,” McMahon wrote.
Brunson averaged 16.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 4.8 assists on 50.2% shooting in his last year with Dallas. He went on to sign a four-year, $104 million deal with New York in 2022, and then inked another extension worth $156 million in 2024, en route to earning back-to-back All-Star and All-NBA honors, while leading the team to their first conference finals appearance in 25 years.
Mark Cuban Has A Long History With The Jalen Brunson Knicks Move
The recent reporting on the relationship between Cuban and Harrison explains a lot about the moves made by the Mavericks over the past few years. However, the news that “Several members of the coaching staff and front office also faulted Cuban for those moves” isn’t the first time the ex-owner has made headlines related to Brunson’s move to the Knicks.
In 2023, McMahon reported Cuban blamed Brunson’s father, Rick Brunson (assistant coach of the Knicks), for the reason the star guard left Dallas in free agency.
“Where it went south was when Rick took over, when the parent took over, or parents took over,” Cuban said.
The ownerwent on to apologize for the comments some time later, stating that he didn’t mean any harm,but felt that was how negotiations went from hisside of things. However, that incident has nowbeen shadowed by Cuban’s most recent comments on the recent extension Brunson signed with the Knicks.
In a discussion on Pablo Torre Finds Outrelating toSteve Ballmer’s involvement in the Kawhi Leonard salary cap circumvention scandal, Cubanhinted thatBrunson’s deal should be investigated.
“I don’t know, I just think there was a lot at play there,” Cuban told Torre before then questioning the punishment dealt to the Knicks for being found guilty of tampering in the Brunson signing. “Was I happy that they only got dinged for a second-round pick? No. No, it should’ve been far worse. But, it is what it is.”
Despite allof his dealings with Brunson and the Knicks over the past few years, and hisstatus as no longer running the Mavericks, McMahon’s reporting indicates that no aspect of the star leaving for The Big Apple had any benefits.
Jalen Brunson Injury Update
Now referring back to the current,2025 iteration of Brunson, the star has recently been out for the Knicks ashe’s been dealing with a sprained right ankle. He’s missed the last two games against the Miami Heat, in which they went 1-1.
However, the most recent Brunson injury news points to a potential return. Hewas officially listed as questionable for New York’s upcoming game against the Dallas Mavericks. According to team insider Marc Stein, Brunson was seen at shoot-around before the matchup and could suit up.
Jalen Brunson (ankle) is officially listed as questionable tonight for Knicks at Mavs but is currently at shootaround … while an illness has forced Dallas to downgrade Cooper Flagg to questionable. https://t.co/oOYyr7pLjx
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) November 19, 2025
Those two games were the only oneshe’s missed so far, but he still leads the team in scoring (28 ppg) and assists (6.5). After a strong start to the year scoring-wise, Brunson has cooled off a bit, but still ranks ninth in points per game, scoring at least 30 points on six occasions.
In his place, Landry Shamet has put in multiple solid performances to help keep the Knicks near the top of the Eastern Conference standings. They’ve also been without Mitchell Robinson for nearly half of their games, and are set to have OG Aunoby miss time with a hamstring strain.
Still, New York has been mostly healthy, and they’re seeing goodgames out of their role players when called upon.