Without Dirk Nowitzki, the new-look Mavericks caught the NBA world off-guard last night, with a 99-91 upset victory over the Lakers in Los Angeles. From Darren Collison to Eddy Curry, the Mavs' offseason additions looked far more in sync than the Lakers' high-profile acquisitions, something that had to please owner Mark Cuban. Before the game got underway, Cuban spoke to reporters about a number of topics related to his team, the Lakers, and Steve Nash. Let's check out the highlights:
- Joking that he just hopes the Lakers "suck" this year, Cuban questioned whether L.A.'s so-called superteam would be able to live up to the expectations, as Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com writes. "Obviously, Nash is great. He's phenomenal, Dwight [Howard]'s phenomenal, Kobe [Bryant]," Cuban said. "But it takes a team. They've got to come together and play as a team."
- Cuban added that he isn't bothered by the fact that the Lakers were able to add two significant pieces under a CBA that was supposed to limit major market teams.
- More Cuban on the Lakers: "I don't have a problem with it, because until guys start playing until they're 50 (years old), it always comes to an end at some point. Houston went for it when they got (Charles) Barkley and it didn't happen. Guys have shelf lives. They don't play forever, so at some point, you have to re-formulate your team. Everybody's got to go through it."
- The Mavs owner admitted he was wrong about Nash back in 2004 when he let the point guard leave Dallas. The decision to let Nash go "was all based on what we thought physically would end up happening, and it didn’t work out that way," Cuban said, according to Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star Telegram.
- Cuban also said he considered trying to bring Nash back to Dallas this past summer, but wasn't interested in committing to a three-year deal, tweets Price.