Mavericks thought Jalen Brunson was ‘chubby’ in pre-draft scouting report, Mark Cuban reveals
NY Post
Mark Cuban’s podcast appearance with Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart yielded a revealing moment about what the Mavericks thought of Brunson upon drafting the point guard.
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.”
Brunson took that in stride, laughing along with Hart after Cuban dropped “chubby” as a descriptor.
The current Knicks superstar spent the first four years of his career in Dallas before moving to New York.
That came just after Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau hired Brunson’s father, Rick, to his coaching staff, leading Cuban to say in April 2023 that “Rick took over, or the parents took over.”
Jaxon Smith-Njigba is being paid handsomely for his breakout season.
Next comes the harder part. Mostly because it can’t get any easier.
It was Kids Day at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, but for the Rangers, it’s been All About The Kids for months.
PORT ST. LUCIE — From the moment he was told he needed surgery on his left hamate bone, Francisco Lindor fixated on the recovery time. Trainers provided the Mets shortstop a six-week pathway to return to play, and Lindor was determined to hit every marker.
Dylan Garand knew the number off the top of his head. He knew that, between the regular season and playoffs, he’d logged over 160 games with AHL Hartford, and he was right. Before the Rangers recalled him Friday, Garand had served as the Wolf Pack’s goaltender 165 times.
SAN DIEGO — As you may have seen elsewhere in this newspaper (and also if you haven’t deleted me yet from your social media), I have a book coming out Tuesday called “The Bosses of The Bronx.” Much of it details the 37 years’ worth of antics, winning, losing, winning again and overall mania of George Steinbrenner’s time with the Yankees.
Don’t close the curtain on “Mean” Joe Greene.
The Knicks are on a five-game winning streak and flooded with concerns.
Dylan Garand knew the number off the top of his head. He knew that, between the regular season and playoffs, he’d logged over 160 games with AHL Hartford, and he was right. Before the Rangers recalled him Friday, Garand had served as the Wolf Pack’s goaltender 165 times.
SAN DIEGO — As you may have seen elsewhere in this newspaper (and also if you haven’t deleted me yet from your social media), I have a book coming out Tuesday called “The Bosses of The Bronx.” Much of it details the 37 years’ worth of antics, winning, losing, winning again and overall mania of George Steinbrenner’s time with the Yankees.
The Knicks are on a five-game winning streak and flooded with concerns.
Don’t close the curtain on “Mean” Joe Greene.
The hockey world is getting a new TV adaptation of another romance series that helped define the genre.