The Dallas Mavericks have been anticipating Jalen Brunson’s likely departure for weeks, multiple league sources tell The Athletic, and it’s now seen as a certainty that the 25-year-old guard will sign with the New York Knicks when free agency opens on Thursday.

Actual negotiations aren’t supposed to start until after 6 PM ET on Thursday evening, but league sources say there was a growing sense of surrender in Dallas on Tuesday to the idea that Brunson indeed wants all those opportunities in New York — essentially that he wants to be a Knick.

While only Dallas can offer a five-year contract and still has the ability to put a richer offer on the table than New York, sources indicate that the Mavericks don’t expect to be able to sway Brunson at this point. It is more likely, sources say, that Dallas will try to engage the Knicks in sign-and-trade talks to try to salvage a measure of compensation (and perhaps a trade exception) by trying to collaborate with New York on a deal.