Like the Mavericks, Brunson may also have entered this offseason believing he would return to Dallas, sources say, and it’s unclear when and why those feelings shifted. If there was one uncomfortable aspect of his past season, in which Brunson otherwise enjoyed breakout success as the Mavericks’ second option, it was the team’s decision to withhold an offer of an extension before the season — and then, once again, during it. It’s unclear whether Brunson would have actually signed the four-year, $55.5 million deal, the most Dallas was eligible to offer him during the year. While Rick Brunson told ESPN in April that his son would have been willing to sign it in January, there was substantial belief around the league that, at that point, Brunson had already played himself into more lucrative territory. In any case, the extension was never formally offered.