Mavericks Notes: Barnes, Parsons, Curry

Mavs owner Mark Cuban recently joined “Jacques & Will” on 103.3 FM ESPN Radio to discuss a number of topics related to the team (h/t Dallas Morning News). Dallas essentially chose Harrison Barnes over Chandler Parsons, who signed with Memphis this summer, and Cuban noted that Barnes wasn’t viewed merely as a fallback option. “No knock on Chandler. Chandler’s skill is skill but we had the uncertainties I’ve talked about,” Cuban said. “There were questions about his knee and I hope he fights through them and there’s never a question again about his knee but we had those questions. If Harrison Barnes would’ve been an unrestricted free agent, he would’ve been first on our list and that’s who we would have gone after right off the bat. We think defensively he gives us a new look, he can guard 1-4 and in some cases with small-ball 1-5, so when you have Deron Williams and Wesley Matthews and Justin Anderson in particular, and him and Andrew Bogut, that gives us a dimension we otherwise haven’t had in a long time. On the other side of the ball, Harrison isn’t as crafty as Chandler but he’s a lot more physical and he can post up and he shoots about the same from three-point [range]; mid-range isn’t as good yet but his post-up game is better. So I think it’s a different dimension but it’s a lot more athletic.”

The owner also weighed in on the perception that Dallas keeps missing out on its top targets. “We got the guy [Harrison Barnes] we wanted this year. Like I said, we couldn’t go after him and make him our first call on July 1st because he was restricted, so certain things had to happen,” Cuban said. “Had he been unrestricted, that would’ve been our first choice and then it would’ve been a different conversation. The whole thing that we don’t get the big name free agents, I think is just nonsense. We think we have a great organization, we have a top three coach and we’ve got a culture you’d like to play in. My job is to put the players in a position to succeed. We give you every resource you need. I spare no expense trying to win and trying to make sure you’re healthy and we can extend your career.”

Here’s more out of Dallas:

• Coach Rick Carlisle indicated that the Mavs will carry the regular season maximum of 15 players, which means that four or five players will be fighting over the final slot, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com tweets.
• Seth Curry has struggled to find a home in the NBA during his brief career and believes that he has finally found his ideal situation with the Mavericks, Leo Sepkowitz of Slamonline.com relays. “The past few years I’ve been in the League, I’ve really noticed how important that structure and direction is for a team,” Curry says. “Going to a place that’s already established, where I can just come in and get better and keep doing things the right way, it’s gonna make it a lot easier to win. I don’t want to take what I did last year and then take a step back. I want to move forward, grow from it and be a consistent NBA player.”