Quote:
Originally Posted by Underdog
Mark Cuban can't do anything about players wanting to win... And why wouldn't they? They don't benefit from losing -- some of these guys are going to be FAs this summer, and none of them aside from Barnes/Powell/Dennis are guaranteed contracts past next season.
And it's not like you can bench all the vets without a good reason either -- their next payday depends on the minutes they play now. If you bench them, then no veteran FAs are gonna want to play here.
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I don’t think it’s that black and white. Players aren’t going to not sign here because Harrison Barnes got some rest days or JJB didn’t play in the 2nd half of a meaningless February game. They likely wouldn’t even know the difference. Doing the right thing in their instance is almost like doing it in a vacuum. Our “culture” hasn’t tangibly benefited us in any significant way since 2011. What we’ve seen is that star players want to play with other star players. More significantly their buddies. Which made it harder for us to lure another star to play with Dirk. Do the players all know that RC is one of the best coaches and that Cuban is a “cool dude”. Of course. But these star types make their own rules. If Westbrook and George want Donovan gone he’s gone tmrw.
The best way to lure a future star FA is to lose this season as much as humanly possible and have two young foundation pieces for 2020 or 2022 or whenever it is that we have a legit shot at the superstar FA. That or have the assets to trade for him.
If everyone is on the same page there are subtle ways to tank. We don’t have to bench all the vets. I think they have to two strong personalities and a yes man in charge. It’s lead to a series of mistakes and half measures.