AN EIGHT- OR nine-figure subplot hovers over Jalen Brunson's star rise during these NBA playoffs.
Brunson, the other guard the Dallas Mavericks landed in the 2018 draft, is poised to enter unrestricted free agency this summer.
Suffice it to say that the price to retain his services, a priority for the Mavs, has gone up. Brunson's spectacular showing over the first four games of the Mavs' first-round series against the Utah Jazz -- an efficient 29.8 points and 4.8 assists per game, highlighted by 41- and 31-point performances in the Mavs' pair of wins while superstar Luka Doncic was sidelined by a strained calf -- has boosted his status as an attractive offseason target.