A former Mavericks executive has faced heat for how he felt about Jalen Brunson during his time in Dallas. And he even got a dirty look from the Knicks star’s dad.
Haralabos Voulgaris, who worked with the Mavericks until May 2021, is getting pushback for wanting to trade Brunson in 2020 and is even getting accused of being the reason the team didn’t re-sign him in 2022.
Voulgaris, formerly the director of quantitative research and development for the Mavericks, wrote in a thread Thursday on X that during the 2020 NBA Draft, he thought Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton was the best player in the class and that he was trying to trade for him.
He added that Brunson was one of the Mavericks’ assets who had league-wide value and was in favor of moving him if they could have acquired Haliburton.
Voulgaris said that he and many others never thought Brunson would blossom into the player he is in 2026, which is why he considered trading him.
Although Voulgaris left the team after the 2021 season and wasn’t part of the front office’s decision to let Brunson walk in free agency to the Knicks, he said he still gets blamed for the call.
And when Voulgaris attended a Knicks-Lakers game a few years ago, he said Rick Brunson gave him the stink eye for most of the contest. Voulgaris added that Brunson’s dad was gesturing at him awkwardly throughout.
Following the game, Rick Brunson even came up to Voulgaris and started talking to him in what the executive said was an overly aggressive tone.
“He told me the reason he had a problem with me was that he was looking out for his kid, and that he was upset because he thought I had tried to cost his son some money,” Voulgaris added.
Voulgaris said he and Rick Brunson, a Knicks assistant coach, ended the game on good terms, giving each other a hug and shaking hands.
Since leaving the Mavericks in 2022, Jalen Brunson has evolved into an All-NBA point guard, spearheading the Knicks’ turnaround from an 11th seed four years ago to an NBA Finals contender.
Jalen Brunson has averaged over 24 points per game in each year as a Knick, guiding them to the playoffs for four straight years.
After scoring 30 points in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday night against the Spurs, he’ll look to extend the Knicks advantage Friday night at 8:30 p.m.
