On Friday evening in Las Vegas, Jalen Brunson’s professional career will unofficially get underway when he and the Dallas Mavericks take the floor for summer league action against the Phoenix Suns. For the Mavericks No. 33 overall pick, this means the time for Brunson to begin finding his fit within a Dallas backcourt that already appears to have its point guard of the future in the 20-year-old Dennis Smith Jr. begins this week.
The fit doesn’t exactly scream future All-Star, but it could prove to be ideal for both Brunson and the Mavericks.
At 21 years old — he’ll be 22 by the time his rookie season officially begins — Brunson doesn’t possess the raw, untapped talent that many NBA newcomers come equipped with, nor does he boast praiseworthy measurables at 6’2 with a 6’4 wingspan. That, along with the fact that he isn’t exactly going to overwhelm from an athletic standpoint, is largely to blame for why the reigning Big East Player of the Year and Consensus National Player of the Year heard 32 names called before his. But what Brunson lacks in measurables and elite athleticism, he accounts for with tremendous basketball IQ and offensive efficiency, as cliché as it may sound for a second-round pick.
A proven winner who helped guide Villanova to a pair of national titles, Brunson’s all-around offensive attack has been his bread and butter thus far, and the stat sheet tells that tale eloquently. Far more impressive than his on-the-surface efforts of 18.9 points and 4.6 assists per game as a junior is how efficiently Brunson found points, especially as a shooter. In addition to connecting on 40.8 percent of his three-point attempts, Brunson converted on 46 percent of pull-up jumpers, 47.4 percent of jumpers coming off screens, and 48 percent of catch-and-shoots. The latter will be especially key, as he’ll, at times, find himself playing alongside Smith.
"I would push Dennis hard every day,'' Brunson said at the Scouting Combine in Chicago. "I would also want an opportunity to play with him. I know that I can play off the ball as well.''
Collectively, when his shooting efforts are paired with his 80.2 percent success rate from the charity stripe, Brunson finished with a true shooting percentage of 63.5, which will be welcomed on a Mavericks squad that finished 23rd last season with a true shooting percentage of 54.4. Furthermore, Brunson finished his collegiate career with an offensive rating of 124.6, which ranks as the 15th-best in NCAA history and the second-best in Big East history.
The Mavs, on the other hand, ranked 23rd in the NBA with an offensive rating of 104.1.
Bearing this in mind, Dallas will understandably welcome Brunson’s offensive contributions, although they’ll come off the bench, and likely in a fairly limited capacity until he proves capable of running alongside Smith as a secondary ball-handler and carves his place in Dallas’ backcourt.
As is, the Mavericks may still bring back Yogi Ferrell, who appeared in all 82 games last year and is currently a restricted free agent. Considering JJ Barea is 34 years old and will become an unrestricted free agent next summer, Dallas quite likely looks to keep Ferrell in the fold for the immediate future, or at least until Brunson potentially solidifies his place as a high-level backup point guard who can provide an offensive punch.
Brunson’s illustrious college career certainly indicates that he’ll be more than capable of shouldering a far reduced offensive workload than what he was responsible for at Villanova. However, in that same sense, he could also benefit from learning alongside Barea, Ferrell, and potentially even during stints with Dallas’ G-League team, the Texas Legends, which seems to be his most likely outlook for his rookie season.
