Mark Cuban told Jalen Brunson the Mavs’ scouting report described him as ‘chubby’ before drafting him

Mark Cuban and Jalen Brunson discussed what Brunson felt was a “small poke” from Cuban regarding Brunson’s father, Rick Brunson’s role in Jalen’s negotiations to remain with Dallas in the summer of 2022. Cuban presence on the “Roommates Show,” a podcast hosted by Jalen and his New York Knicks teammate Josh Hart.

On the show, Hart also asked Cuban why the Mavericks selected Brunson — whom Hart, himself always chatty, called “the little fat-headed kid from Villanova” — over him.

That’s when Cuban revealed what was going on in the Mavericks’ war room during the 2018 draft and what Brunson’s scouting report was like.

“We made a trade to get Luca [Doncic] and we get [to] Number 31 [pick],” Cuban began, “and all the scouts were like, ‘J.B. [Jalen Brunson]JB, JB, JB. He’s a winner, yada yada. A little fat, not that fast, not super athletic, but he’s a winner, he’s a champion. You can’t put a price on that. He’s our guy.'”

A little fat! This is only funny because you can see that Brunson is not angry, and Hart is loving the sarcasm he takes on his guy. Both guys immediately started laughing. They have a great friendship on the court, and it’s just as good on this podcast.

It’s also a fair assessment of Brunson, who, shall we say, has a solid build and came into the league at 6 foot 1 inch and a little under 200 pounds. That’s like calling Luka a little fat. It is what it is, and both of those guys’ size is a big part of their advantage. Both guys hold their space and can change angles without having to dodge defenders.

Maybe the question was whether Luka and Brunson could coexist in the same backcourt as equally developed players, though Doncic is obviously much older. To be honest, it’s probably the same doubts they had about the pair when they didn’t commit Brunson to a max contract when he left for the Knicks.

It was best for both parties. Both Brunson and Doncic need control of the ball and offense. This makes sense in all aspects of basketball, but it’s still ridiculous that Cuban directly told Brunson that he labeled him fat. Just great.