Mavs at Milwaukee tonight, but Cuban is still garnering the most space in the papers this morning.
Dwain Price has some quotes from Cuban about why he defended Dirk on his blog.
"It's just all fun," Cuban said. "It's been that way whether it's Phil Jackson or anybody.
"If someone tries to take on one of our guys, I know [coach] Avery [Johnson] is not going to say anything, and Dirk's not going to say anything. But I have no problem [doing] it."
----------------------"If someone tries to take on one of our guys, I know [coach] Avery [Johnson] is not going to say anything, and Dirk's not going to say anything. But I have no problem [doing] it."
David Moore has an article on Cuban too, but it doesn't start off well.
Let me start by saying Mark Cuban is wrong.
Those T-Mobile commercials with Dwyane Wade are clever.
It gets better though.
Those T-Mobile commercials with Dwyane Wade are clever.
It's ironic that Nowitzki is the middle-man in Cuban's most entertaining outburst of the season. After the Finals, Nowitzki came out and said that while he appreciated Cuban's passion, it wasn't always good. He said the owner needed to learn to control himself like the players do and not yell at officials all the time.
You want to know what impact those words had on Cuban?
"The very next day we're in Las Vegas, and I was giving him" a hard time about it, Cuban said. "I was asking him, 'Dirk, should I wear a suit out tonight?' "
And what about the notion that the Mavericks would be better off if Cuban said less?
Mavs owner Mark Cuban doesn't shy away from controversy. "There are so many clueless people," Cuban said. "Yeah, that will change everything, right? They said that when I bought the team, too. Shut up. We'll never win because you're in the way, you're a distraction.
"It's really killed us over the past seven years. We're far worse."
----------------------You want to know what impact those words had on Cuban?
"The very next day we're in Las Vegas, and I was giving him" a hard time about it, Cuban said. "I was asking him, 'Dirk, should I wear a suit out tonight?' "
And what about the notion that the Mavericks would be better off if Cuban said less?
Mavs owner Mark Cuban doesn't shy away from controversy. "There are so many clueless people," Cuban said. "Yeah, that will change everything, right? They said that when I bought the team, too. Shut up. We'll never win because you're in the way, you're a distraction.
"It's really killed us over the past seven years. We're far worse."
Sefko writes about how both the young players and the veterans are on board with Avery.
"Look at last year," Harris said. "We were in a similar situation with Griff [Adrian Griffin] and myself. He started the majority of the Memphis series and I came in for the San Antonio series and the Phoenix series and then we went back to him against Miami. It's all about versatility. If it's better for the team, why not? We're all trying to get the ultimate goal so I don't think egos are really a problem."
It's hard to argue. During the Philadelphia on Sunday there was a moment during the third quarter where I was thinking Avery made a mistake by leaving Devin Harris on the bench for almost the entire first quarter. Then I realized Dallas was up by 30 and I should probably stop second guessing Avery. It's hard not to trust the coach when you are 42-9.--------------------
Short Q&A with Dirk from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
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Down in the D-League: Pop has a busy schedule coming up.
In addition to the Mavs' game at Houston on Thursday, Mensah-Bonsu will play for the D-League's Fort Worth Flyers on Friday night in Austin. Then on Saturday morning he will fly to Las Vegas to participate in the D-League All-Star Game.
----------------------Around the NBA: Nash is out of the All-Star game.
Pat Riley is returning to the Heat after the break. A.K.A. Now that Shaq is back.