Mark Cuban appeared on a podcast with Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart and there was a moment where he revealed what the Mavericks were thinking when they drafted the point guard.
Hart jokingly asked Cuban why the team drafted “that thick-headed kid from Villanova,” a reference to Brunson, and Cuban didn't really disagree with the assessment.
“We traded up to get Luka. [Doncic] And we [to] The number 31 [pick]”All the scouts were saying, 'JB, JB, JB, JB. He's a winner,'” Cuban said of the 2018 draft. “He's a little chunky, not as fast, not the most athletic, but he's a winner, he's a champion. You can't put a price on that. He's our guy,” Cuban said of the 2018 draft.
Branson took it in stride, laughing along with Hart after Cuban used the word “chubby” as an adjective.
The current Knicks superstar spent the first four years of his career in Dallas before moving to New York.
This came shortly after Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau brought Brunson's father, Rick, onto the coaching staff, leading Cuban to say in April 2023 that “either Rick took over or my parents took over.”
Branson addressed the comments on his podcast and Cuban apologized.
“The only thing I didn't like about the situation was Mark said, 'When parents get involved, it messes things up,'” Branson said. “So I was like, 'Oh my God, that's just so ironic.'”
The Knicks lost a 2025 second-round pick for misconduct as a result of that negotiation, but it was a well-justified price after Brunson's emergence as a bona fide superstar.
Brunson signed a four-year, $156.5 million contract extension in July, but could have received $113 million if he had waited until next summer to sign.
“I apologize if it treated you in a certain way, that was not my intention,” Cuban said, “but it was difficult to deal with. It was a unique negotiation in many ways.”
“No hard feelings, of course. But it's always funny when you and I pass each other. You look at me, I look at you, and we just keep smiling and walking, you know? And it's all well and good that ends well. … I'm happy for you, the King of New York, and for us.”
