Cuban: 'People are fired up to see what we’re able to do'
Earl K. Sneed recaps Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban's in-studio appearance Tuesday morning on ESPN 103.3. FM.
Cuban: 'People are fired up to see what we’re able to do'
DALLAS -- Since recovering nicely with a bevy of the moves made by the front office following a rough start to free agency, we haven’t heard much from Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.
That all changed Tuesday morning after Cuban appeared in -studio on ESPN 103.3 FM’s The Ben and Skin Show and expressed his thoughts on the upcoming season and the 2012-13 roster.
From the tough roster decisions made following the 2011 championship to getting snubbed by Brooklyn Nets point guard Deron Williams before also losing veterans Jason Kidd and Jason Terry in free agency, Cuban touched on it all in his hour-long appearance while admitting the plan remains to build a younger core.
And after expressing that the off-season moves did in fact position the Mavs for a better long-term future while competing now, the outspoken owner didn’t shy away from speaking on several other hot topics.
“I mean, it’s kind of been according to plan, believe it or not,” Cuban said when reminiscing on the last 14 months since the franchise captured its first NBA title. “I mean, we went for it. We went out and signed all our guys and tried to make sure their contracts expired at the same time, knowing they weren’t 21 (years old). They weren’t even 31. And so, we knew that we couldn’t have the same guys playing forever, as much as we would have liked it. … But we got to the point this summer where those contracts were expiring and as tough as it was to let some of those folks go, we felt like we had to get younger and we had to stay with the program.”
He added: “It was just following the plan. … We felt like with the changes with the CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) and the age of our team, we needed to stick to our plan.”
Never expressing much remorse over his pursuit of Williams in free agency or over the departures of several of the key veterans on the title team, Cuban admitted that while remaining competitive and keeping to the plan of getting younger on the fly, the Mavs continue to be optimistic they can and will build another team capable of competing for a championship.
The owner also couldn’t hide his excitement for the new-look team that will take the floor this fall, surrounding 11-time All-Star Dirk Nowitzki with a different supporting cast.
“I’ve gotta tell you, I’m really, really excited about this season, just because there’s uncertainty on paper like everybody else but it looks really good. It looks really exciting and I’m hearing that from Mavs fans. … In reality, with this team, it’s exciting,” Cuban explained. “In talking to Dirk and talking to Coach [Rick Carlisle] and all our guys, I mean, people are fired up to see what we’re able to do. You never know until you know, but I’m excited.”
