I apologize if this has been posted already, I can't find it in a thread, so here goes:
Sam Smith
"Dallas soap opera: We know how players get a coach fired. They just curtail their effort. But how do players get an owner fired? It turns out padded slippers and fluffy towels aren't enough to overcome Mark Cuban's insincerity, disingenuousness, hypocrisy and pretension. Anyone get the picture here? The Mavs players surely have. They are 17-12, which would be cause for celebration with the Bulls. But the Mavs were 25-4 at this time last year. And they're 4-10 on the road, the only top Western team with a losing road record. There has been talk of Dirk Nowitzki's bothersome ankles and Michael Finley's injuries and slump. But insiders and players say the same spirit and drive are gone, emptied by the double dealing and personal aggrandizement of owner Cuban. It's one reason why All-Star guard Steve Nash talked of going to Toronto when he becomes a free agent.
Players are confused about the constant personnel changes, like the deals for Antoine Walker and Antawn Jamison that have left only five players from last season's conference finals team. Even now, Cuban is talking about taking on troublesome Rasheed Wallace. Promises to popular veterans like Tim Hardaway and Nick Van Exel were broken. Players were upset with Cuban's obsessive courtship of Pat Riley last season that held up coach Don Nelson's extension. Now, insiders say, Cuban will dump Nelson the minute Riley says he'll come aboard.
To no one's surprise, Cuban is blaming Nelson and his staff for the struggles this season. "The issue isn't so much with our players as it is with our coaching staff just drilling them and drilling them and drilling them to death," Cuban said last week. "In terms of personnel, I wouldn't change it for anything." Until he does. Dallas has now become one of the most unfriendly places in the NBA for players."