Knicks Captain Proved Mark Cuban Wrong

Dallas Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban was apparently out on this investment but the New York Knicks were happily in, and the dividends are rolling.

In 2022, the Knicks outbid the Dallas Mavericks for the services of Jalen Brunson, leaving Cuban, the “Shark Tank” star, somewhat seething in his wake. While Dallas is fresh off a Finals trip two years after Brunson’s departure, the Knicks’ investment has yielded an All-Star, a franchise face, and, of course, the 36th captain in franchise history.

Brunson and Cuban got a chance to address the former’s fateful free agency on the “Roommates Show” podcast hosted by the point guard and Knicks/Villanova teammate Josh Hart. Addressing Brunson’s recent promotion, Cuban perhaps added fuel to the fire between New York and Dallas when he admitted that he did not envision a C being added to the point guard’s name.

“Did I see him as captain material? I don’t know,” Cuban said. “I knew he wanted his own team, but he really didn’t get that chance to be that guy other than a couple of playoff games. So I’d be lying if I said yeah, for sure I saw him as captain material.”

To Cuban’s point, Dallas was, and still is, a franchise whose fate is linked to Brunson’s 2018 draft classmate Luca Doncic. Brunson did come up in Dallas’ Western Conference Finals run in 2022 when he took over the team’s scoring load when Doncic was out due to an injury.

While Cuban’s analysis was backed by a comedically mocking Hart (who called Brunson “the little annoying fat-head kid that coach liked”), Brunson humbly agreed he never entered the league with captaincy on his mind.

“Captain, in the NBA, I never thought that was something I had to strive for,” he said. “Obviously, I wanted to be a leader, but I never thought I’d be named captain of a franchise.”

Now, Brunson is at the hardwood helm of one of the most explosive setups in the NBA, one that won 50 games and the second seed on the Eastern Conference playoff bracket last season behind his leadership both on and off the floor.

To his credit, Cuban did say that hints of Brunson future title were on display in North Texas, nothing that he was always a “cool head” and “wise beyond his years” after he and Dallas management made him the 33rd overall pick in the 2018 draft.

“I don’t want to say Jalen didn’t have leadership skills, you’re seeing them now, but he definitely did,” Cuban said. “You could tell that he was the leader at Villanova and he tried to translate that. He was always a calming influence, which was great.”

Brunson, Hart, and the Knicks will be visiting Cuban and the Mavericks on Nov. 27.

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