Mark Cuban was in the news today for his thoughts on the possibility of the NBA raising the age requirement for players entering the league. Cuban took it further, and believes that if the minimum age isn’t raised then the NBA D-League should work to convince players to play there instead of a single college season, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. Cuban stated, “I think what will end up happening — and this is my opinion, not that of the league — is if the colleges don’t change from the one-and-done, we’ll go after the one. The NCAA rules are so hypocritical, there’s absolutely no reason for a kid to go [to college], because he’s not going to class [and] he’s actually not even able to take advantage of all the fun because the first semester he starts playing basketball. So if the goal is just to graduate to the NBA or be an NBA player, go to the D-League.”
More from out west:
- Some of the more interesting trade scenarios are the ones that didn’t happen. This past offseason the Rockets tried to pry Dirk Nowitzki away the Mavs, writes Royce Young of CBS Sports.com. According to the article, Rockets GM Daryl Morey was nervous that the Warriors addition of Andre Iguodala would sway Dwight Howard to sign with Golden State. In response, Morey contacted Cuban to inquire on Dirk’s availability, which Cuban had taken as a taunt about the Mavs missing out on Howard, writes Young.
- Speaking of the Iguodala signing, Andy Larsen of SaltCityHoops.com details the role that the Jazz played in the Warriors inking the player this past summer.
- The Mavericks have sent Jae Crowder and Shane Larkin back to the D-League, tweets Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Both are expected to be in the Texas Legends lineup this evening.
- Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times writes about the role reversal for the city’s two teams, the Clippers and the Lakers, in regards to free agent appeal.