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Mark Cuban in favor of NBA youth club system

Matthew Emmons / US PRESSWIRE

Mark Cuban doesn't know how to think inside the box. It's not in his nature.

The entrepreneurial Dallas Mavericks owner has had his fair share of revolutionary notions over the years, so his latest conceptualization should come as a surprise to no one.

Cuban told ESPN.com's Tim McMahon recently that he feels the NBA should explore the idea of developing a youth club system, similar to the infrastructure employed by professional soccer teams abroad, whereby basketball players would have the opportunity to get involved with the sport at a young age.

Although youth basketball programs are a dime a dozen throughout North America, Cuban's scheme supposes that the NBA facilitates such a system that would essentially replace the current AAU model which has come under heavy scrutiny in recent years.

Earlier this year, Kobe Bryant claimed that European players are more skillful than most American-born prospects, pointing the finger at AAU programs. Shortly thereafter, LeBron James chimed in with his two cents, voicing concern over the lack of fundamentals being taught in the youth ranks.

An NBA-sponsored club system, as Cuban envisions it, would enable children, parents, and communities alike to benefit from a grassroots structure.

You start off just by becoming a part of the fabric of the community so that basketball is a foundation for helping kids and then expand the program from there, so that those kids who got better and better and better, I think they'd be even better, so there's the self-interest.

And I think there'd be a lot less of the exploitation, which is important. You start with 11-year-olds, 11-14 and then 14-16 and then 16-18, so you expand it as each class goes through. Then I think we've accomplished something.

For what it's worth, Cuban's recommended alternative is a clever one. It would serve dual functions – strengthening the quality of youth development programs and furthering the ever-growing NBA brand.

Perhaps we will see Cuban step in front of his fellow investors on "Shark Tank" to really put this idea to the test.

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