NBA Rumors: Mavs Would Need Shocking Offer to Trade Jalen Brunson Before Deadline

It would reportedly take an out-of-this-world offer for a team to prise guard Jalen Brunson from the Dallas Mavericks before the Feb. 10 NBA trade deadline.

According to ESPN's Tim MacMahon on The Lowe Post podcast (h/t HoopsHype), a source said it would take a "what-the-bleep-are-they-thinking type of offer" to land Brunson via trade.

The 25-year-old is in the midst of a career year and has taken on a bigger role than ever before, starting 32 of the 50 games he has appeared in, primarily alongside superstar guard Luka Doncic.

Brunson is averaging career highs with 15.7 points, 5.6 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game. He is also making 1.0 three-pointers per contest and shooting 50.2 percent from the field and 34.7 percent from beyond the arc.

The 2018 second-round pick out of Villanova started just 66 games over his first three NBA seasons, but he is well on his way to setting a new career high in that department, as he is just six starts shy of the 38 he made as a rookie.

Brunson took a big leap forward last year after failing to average double figures in scoring during his first two seasons. He put up 12.6 points per game last term and also set personal bests by shooting 52.3 percent from the floor and 40.5 percent from long range.

His numbers have gotten even better with more playing time this season, and his 31.4 minutes per game are a career high as well.

While Brunson was primarily a backup to Doncic in his first three seasons, they have seen the floor together more often this season under head coach Jason Kidd than they did under previous coach Rick Carlisle.

Doncic has managed to maintain his high level of production in the process, averaging 25.6 points, 8.9 assists and 8.9 rebounds per game, once again establishing himself as an MVP candidate.

Brunson's increased usage has seemingly been a good thing for the Mavs as a whole also since they are comfortably in the Western Conference playoff picture as the No. 6 seed with a 29-22 record.

Perhaps the one factor that could make the Mavericks consider trading Brunson is the fact that he is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.

Losing a player with his skill set for nothing in free agency would be a major blow, but trading Brunson in the midst of a push for the playoffs and a potential championship would be a tough sell to the fanbase.

Given how well the backcourt of Doncic and Brunson has meshed this season, it seems likely that Dallas will move forward with Brunson and worry about what it will take to retain him during the offseason.