Jalen Brunson (PG, DAL) - Week 21 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add In 14-Team Leagues

OWNED IN: 6% of leagues

Analysis: With 7.4 points, 2.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and a solid 35.4% success-rate from three-point territory through 54 games with the Dallas Mavericks (including 20 as a part of the starting-lineup), Jalen Brunson is having a concrete rookie-campaign (not to mention for a second-round pick). Though he has received a modest 19.0 minutes per game for the season as a whole, the departure of Dennis Smith Jr. and J.J. Barea's season-ending injury opened up a gaping hole of opportunity for Brunson, who has played his way into a considerably more prominent role for the Mavs over other point guards Trey Burke and veteran Devin Harris. After 43 games of the 2018-2019 campaign took Dallas through January, Brunson had been a member of the starting-five 26% of the time and had yet to play more than 23.2 minutes a game for any given month.

February, however, was a different story as the roster took new form. The former Villanova Wildcat started in eight out of ten games for the Mavericks last month, and produced a well-rounded 11.9 points, 3.9 assists, and 3.8 rebounds in 27.3 minutes per contest, while also shooting a cool 42.9% from downtown (to follow up his impressive January figure of 50%). He also managed to get back on the right track with his perimeter defense by grabbing seven steals in the month after following up his eleven steals of December with a measly two swipes in January. While Brunson was cold from the field in his first game for the month of March and recorded only two points, he still displayed his well-rounded skill-set with four rebounds, two assists, and a steal through 28.3 minutes on the floor (and once again, part of the starting-lineup). When the Mavericks shook up their squad, they began to look to the rookie Jalen Brunson to lift a considerable load-share at the point guard position. With characteristics and maturity that contribute across the board and some consistently-hot shooting from deep, Brunson is an asset of interest as the NBA season approaches spring.