Mark Cuban dishes on a range of topics in New York Post interview

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban recently did a wide-ranging interview with the New York Post. The questions cover everything from possible health concerns associated with the NBA’s looming restart in Orlando, to the BLM protests, the Mavericks chances of winning it all, and of course Kristaps Porzingis.

If you’re a regular reader of Mavs Moneyball (or my coverage elsewhere, for that matter) some of Cuban’s answers will sound familiar. He’s been repeating his talking points regularly since the league suspended its season indefinitely on March 11. The Post goes deeper too, asking him his thoughts on past Mavericks moments as well as other sports.

One thing you probably don’t know about Cuban is his favorite food. He dishes in this interview. You can read the full thing here.

The following are selected excerpts:

Q: What are your main safety concerns about the Orlando bubble, and are positive tests inevitable?

A: I don’t have specific concerns. I think the NBA and Disney are working with our doctors and scientists to do everything possible to keep (participants) safe. In fact, given the rise in cases in states, I have every reason to believe the setup we have in Orlando will be safer for our players and travel parties than staying in their respective cities.

Q: What do you believe will be the quality of play and the likelihood of added injuries?

A: The four-month break since March 11 till the start of camp isn’t all that different than the end of the regular season to summer league or the midpoint of the playoffs to the start of training camp. So I don’t expect any difference on the injury front than a traditional start of season. Plus our training and medical staffs are going to be hyper-vigilant for obvious reasons. So I think we will all err on the side of caution when it comes to player health.

Q: Why is this country just now awakening to Black Lives Matter?

A: Racism is a generations-old problem that we need to address and change as a country. I think a big part of the problem is that the vast majority of Americans are uncomfortable having honest discussions about race.

Q: How would you assess your team’s chances?

A: I think we are going to be ready to play. I think we have a great group of guys who love to play together, a great coaching and analytics staff that will give us every chance of making a long playoff run.

Q: What have you learned about Kristaps Porzingis on the court and off?

A: I really like KP. He loves the game of basketball. He works his ass off. He wants to be one of the best players in the game and puts in the time. And most importantly he wants to win. He will put what the team needs ahead of stats or individual accolades to help us win. What I like best about KP is that he has that one extra level at crunch time that all great players have.

Q: How would you describe Adam Silver’s leadership style, and how does it compare to David Stern’s?

A: I like them both. But David was more autocratic while Adam is more collaborative. Both were the right approach relative to where the NBA found itself competitively.