Dallas Drama
After Tuesday’s loss to the Lakers, Mark Cuban and Avery Johnson reportedly exchanged heated words about Brandon Bass’ playing time. Cuban’s case was that the 6-8 240 lbs. forward had proven to be too inconsistent to see serious time, while Johnson defended the youngster’s presence in important games. Bass did have a miserable outing against LA, in which he scored 2 points and had 4 rebounds in 15 minutes. He saw less time against the Celtics, but was much more efficient in those 11 minutes – scoring 10 points and grabbing 5 boards.
From today’s Dallas Star-Telegram…
Brandon Bass was at the heart of an argument between Mavericks coach Avery Johnson and team owner Mark Cuban, concerning Bass’ playing time and his performances against top teams, a source said.
Cuban, the source said, believes Bass hasn’t produced consistently against top teams and that Johnson is playing the third-year power forward too much.
But Cuban denied that his spat with Johnson was over Bass.
“And anyone who says Bass doesn’t show up for big games is an idiot and missed the Warriors and Spurs games.”
What Warriors game is Cuban talking about? The last time those two teams played was January 2nd? Sure, Bass had 12 points and 11 boards, but that was months ago and the Mavs crushed Golden State 121-99. He could have gone for 5 and 5 and they would have still won. What about the 19 and 7 he had against the Nets on March 8th?
While Cuban did come to Bass’ defense, it’s still a little curious that he only cited random mid-season games.
March 21st, 2008 at 1:08 pm
rangerjohn says:
does anyone care what happens in dallas? i dont think so.
but hey cuban does have that hdnetfights and that is SAAAAWEEEEETTTT!
March 21st, 2008 at 1:46 pm
Dave says:
I get the feeling that Avery is going to be moving on soon — probably after they get bounced in the first round. Cuban can’t stop micromanaging the team, and will probably continue to undermine whichever coach he hires next.
March 21st, 2008 at 3:11 pm
doc says:
They shoulda kept Devin.
March 21st, 2008 at 4:26 pm
Kobeef says:
@ Doc
I agree. Cuban and Avery’s frustration is not about Bass – it is about a team that
a)has a massive payroll and is not going far in the playoffs…
b) made a trade that might have made them worse both now and in the future
March 21st, 2008 at 5:29 pm
mavs all the way says:
come on guys, give us a chance.
we’ll send you a copy of the finals program, and after that a copy of the mavs 08 championship dvd…
March 21st, 2008 at 5:45 pm
ngoogs says:
since when does an owner have any say over who plays and who doesn’t? That why the owner hires a GM who hires a coach: because they know what they’re doing.
March 22nd, 2008 at 12:23 am
word says:
Cuban is a owner at every game who watches his team under a microscope and is very vocal about how he wants shit done. Right now he mad frustrated like #4 says. After last years humiliation it looks like they won’t get much further this year. The Mavs aren’t really heading in the right direction and its hard to say why since Kidd is supposed to be a huge improvement and its not looking that way at all right now.