Since purchasing the Dallas Mavericks in 2000, Mark Cuban has mostly seen success, including a championship team in 2011.
Since winning that first championship in franchise history, the Mavericks haven't made it past the first round and are on the verge of missing the playoffs for the third time in seven years. Prior to 2013, Cuban hadn't missed the playoffs in a full season as owner, and he told Julius Erving on the "House Call with Dr. J" podcast that he isn't planning on missing anymore after this season.
"I'm probably not supposed to say this, but, like, I just had dinner with a bunch of our guys the other night, and here we are, you know, we weren't competing for the playoffs. I was like, 'Look, losing is our best option,'" Cuban told Erving.
"Adam (Silver) would hate hearing that, but I at least sat down and I explained it to them. And I explained what our plans were going to be this summer, that we're not going to tank again. This was, like, a year-and-a-half tanking, and that was too brutal for me. But being transparent, I think that's the key to being kind of a players' owner and having stability."
The Mavericks have NBA's third-worst record at 18-40. They finished last season 33-49 and ended up with the ninth pick in the draft, getting future franchise centerpiece Dennis Smith Jr. With all-time great Dirk Notwitzki nearing retirement, the Mavericks could use a reset to get back on track.
- With h/t to ESPN
