Tanking comments cost Cuban $600,000
The NBA fined outspoken Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban $600,000 on Wednesday for comments about tanking during a podcast with Hall of Famer Julius Erving.
Commissioner Adam Silver said the fine was for “public statements detrimental to the NBA.” The league said the podcast with Erving was posted Sunday, the day the All-Star Game was played in Los Angeles.
Cuban said during the 30-minute interview that he met recently with some of his players and told them “losing is our best option.” Cuban was trying to illustrate to Erving how he believes he is a transparent owner.
“I’m probably not supposed to say this, but I just had dinner with a bunch of our guys the other night,” Cuban said. “And here we are. We weren’t competing for the playoffs. I was like, ‘Look, losing is our best option.’
“Adam would hate to be hearing that. But at least I sat down and I explained it to them. And I explained what our plans are going to be this summer, that we’re not going to tank again. This is like a year and a half of tanking. That was too brutal for me.”
The Mavericks dumped veterans Deron Williams and Andrew Bogut around the trading deadline last season and had their highest draft pick (No. 9) since ending up with Dirk Nowitzki from that spot in 1998. They drafted rookie point guard Dennis Smith Jr., one of the league’s rising stars.
The latest fine surpasses the $500,000 Cuban was docked in 2002 for criticizing former director of officials Ed Rush, saying he wouldn’t hire Rush to manage a Dairy Queen. .
• The Mavericks have hired outside counsel to investigate allegations of inappropriate conduct by former team president Terdema Ussery in a Sports Illustrated report that described a hostile workplace for women.
SPURS READY WITH OR WITHOUT LEONARD >> The Spurs are preparing to play without star forward Kawhi Leonard this season, San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. Leonard has missed all but nine games this season as he battles right quadriceps tendinopathy.
“We only have X number of games left this season and he’s still not ready to go,” Popovich said. “And if by some chance he is, it’s going to be pretty late into the season and it’s going to be a tough decision. How late do you bring somebody back? That’s why I’m just trying to be honest and logical. I’ll be surprised if he gets back this year.”
Tendinopathy is a disease of the tendon that includes tenderness and pain, particularly during exercise. LEBRON: DON’T MESS WITH PLAYOFF SEEDINGS >> LeBron James says leave the NBA playoffs alone. The Cavaliers star said he disagrees with a potential proposal to re-seed the 16 teams in the playoffs regardless of conference. The league has always had teams from the Eastern and Western Conferences compete separately in the postseason with the respective conference winners meeting in the NBA Finals. Silver recently floated a proposal where the 16 teams would be seeded regardless of their conference.
James disagrees with the concept, mostly because it “changes the landscape of the history of the game.” The three-time champion, who has played in seven straight Finals, noted that there have been junctures where one conference has dominated, but in the long run there has been balance.
“It’s cool to mess around with the All-Star Game, we proved you can do that,” said James. “But let’s not get too crazy about the playoffs.”
Any change would require a majority vote by league owners.
NEW CAVALIERS WILL MAKE HOME DEBUTS >> Larry Nance Jr., Jordan Clarkson, George Hill and Rodney Hill will face the Wizards at Quicken Loans Arena, the first game at home for the four since being acquired in a trade earlier this month. Nance’s Ohio homecoming will become even more special. Larry Nance Sr., the father of the former Lakers forward, starred with the Cavaliers from 1987-94. Cleveland is 2-0 with its recent additions.
BLAZERS ADD RUSH >> Veteran Brandon Rush signs a 10-day contract with the team. Last season Rush played for the Minnesota Timberwolves, appearing in 47 games and averaging 4.2 points and 2.1 rebounds in 21.9 minutes. The nine-year veteran has also played for Indiana, Golden State and Utah.