Mavericks owner Mark Cuban says Heat moves don't guarantee NBA title
LAS VEGAS --Mark Cuban gave Cleveland owner Dan Gilbert a standing ovation. Then he turned his attention to the NBA and what he feels are some much-needed changes to its tampering rules involving players.
The Mavericks owner was at the opening game of the summer league Friday and said he would have had a similar reaction to Gilbert's when LeBron James abandoned his hometown fans and franchise Thursday and bolted to Miami in free agency.
Gilbert responded with an open letter to fans on the Cavs' website calling James' action a "cowardly betrayal" and saying that the fans of Cleveland deserve better. He guaranteed the Cavaliers would win a championship "before the self-titled former King."
"It's unfortunate that LeBron put the team in that position," Cuban said. "There's limited opportunities to get those types of deals done, particularly when the Cavs could have had lots of cap room. So I can understand Dan being upset.
"I think his letter shows all the emotion that goes with owning a team. Dan's a passionate owner, and he deserves a lot of credit for putting it out there. Most guys wouldn't have the guts to do it. He sent a message to his fans that he's not going to quit and LeBron is now the guy who used to play for him, so what does he care?"
In a subsequent interview, Gilbert also said that James "quit" on the Cavaliers in their playoff loss to Boston.
Asked if he thought that Gilbert might have crossed a line and that players might resent his handling of the situation, Cuban said, "Not at all. He sent a message, and the message was received loud and clear. He's the captain of the ship. I understand where Dan was coming from because he was put in a very difficult situation, and I would have been upset, too."
Cuban said there might be some fallout from the events of this free-agent frenzy. When James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh ended up in Miami, it was clear to Cuban that those players were acting in concert.
"I'm going to bring it up to the league that we really do have to re-evaluate the issue of player tampering," he said. "Who knows what will happen, but I have to suggest it to them because there has to be more definitive rules. It's not just the Cavs. It could be any team. It could be the Heat in a couple years.
"I'm not saying it's going to be easy. But there has to be a way to keep these guys away from each other for the last week anyway."
Cuban respects the decision of the trio to sign with the same team. But he wonders just how soon the Heat will be championship material -- or if it will be at all with its three-headed monster.
He pointed out that even when the Los Angeles Lakers got Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant in the summer of 1996, it took four years, plus the arrival of coach Phil Jackson, before they struck pay dirt.
"In regard to the basketball decision, more power to them," Cuban said. "But it will be interesting to see because no team has ever blown themselves up for straight cap room, ever, and had it work. Never."
The Heat won't have trouble getting quality players to take minimum salaries because a lot of them will want to play with James, Bosh and Wade, and they see it as a grand opportunity to win a title.
But those players will have to shoulder more of the load than they think, Cuban said.
"If you look at these last playoffs, it wasn't the stars that won games," he said. "It was the role players who decided a lot of the playoff games."
And as for future teams using this formula to load up in a particular free-agent season, Cuban added, "It's not going to be a template until it works. What they did looks good in the summer. But a lot of things look good in the summer."
HA
Everyone with a soul should have Dan's back.
Jughead;420616 wrote:Everyone with a low IQ should have Dan's back.
