Cuban denies Mavericks have explored trading Porzingis

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has refuted reports that the team is shopping forward Kristaps Porzingis.

"It's not accurate," Cuban told Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News. "We have not discussed him in a trade at all. Has not happened."

Cuban also voiced displeasure with an anonymous source who took aim at Porzingis' defensive shortcomings in a report by Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report earlier this week.

"We are not happy that there is a supposed 'Western Conference exec' ripping on one of our players," Cuban said. "There is no trade discussion. I think they just used it as a way to put out there what they think of KP."

While Porzingis has struggled as an interior defender this season, he remains the Mavericks' second-leading scorer and rebounder at 20.5 points and 8.2 boards per game. The 25-year-old missed the first nine games of the campaign after undergoing offseason knee surgery.

Porzingis will sit out his second straight contest Tuesday due to a sore back.