Hart, jokingly, asked the former Mavs owner why the team drafted “the little fat-headed kid from Villanova,” referencing Brunson, and Cuban didn’t quite disagree with that assessment.
“We traded up to get Luka [Doncic] and we get [to] the number 31 [pick],” Cuban said, recalling the 2018 draft. “And all the scouts were like, ‘JB, JB, JB, JB. He’s a winner, yada, yada. Little bit chubby, not quite as fast, not super athletic, but he’s a winner, he’s a champion. You can’t put a value on that. That’s our guy.”
Mark Cuban on Jalen Brunson’s scouting report:
“A little bit chubby, not quite as fast, not super athletic, but he’s a winner.” 💀
— Roommates Show (@Roommates__Show) August 29, 2024 Jalen Brunson laughs as Mark Cuban describes the discussion around drafting a “chubby” version of the Knicks star on the “Roommates Show.” Roommates Show/X
Brunson brought up those comments on the podcast, leading Cuban to apologize.
“The only thing I … didn’t like about the whole situation was when Mark said, ‘When the parents got involved, that’s when things get messy,” Brunson said. “So that was the one thing that I was like, I kind of was like, ‘Damn, that was a little jab.”
The Knicks lost a 2025 second-round pick over tampering as a result of that negotiation, but after Brunson emerged as a bona fide superstar, that was more than a fair price to pay.
Mark Cuban explains the draft process of a “chubby” Jalen Brunson on the “Roommates Show.” Roommates Show/X
Brunson inked a four-year, $156.5 million extension in July, leaving $113 million on the table he could have received by waiting until next summer to sign.
“I apologize, if it put you in a certain way, that wasn’t the intention,” Cuban said. “But it was hard to deal with. It was a unique negotiation in a lot of different ways.
Jalen Brunson (1) guards D’Vaunted Smith-Rivera during the first half. Bill Kostroun/New York Post
“There’s definitely no hard feelings at all. But it’s always interesting when your dad and I walk by each other, you know, it’s just like he gives me the eye, I give him the eye, then we smile and then keep on walking, right? And so all is well and ends well. … I’m happy for you, the king of New York, and I’m happy for us.”
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