Anyone hear Cuban this morning on the Ticket?

[Simon2]

He said that the plan last year was not to spend the exception and that they only changed their minds when Lewis showed up. He said that since they got Raef, they were way over the cap and that there was no way they were going to use the exception. That means that all the talk we heard in the beginning that money would be no object was just bs. Didn't Mark even say that even if all the seats were empty, it wouldn't be a problem. I guess realistically, its about economics anyway so I shouldn't get so riled up about it. It just sad that money is playing a bigger role in all of this.

[u2sarajevo]

I took that as a precursor for a trade involving Raef. Maybe I'm just wishing (although the trade rumor floating around on this board doesn't make sense), but I think Cuban is getting easy to see through. Guess we will have to wait and see.

[Dooby]

Synopsis from LMF courtesy of Tyler:
************************************************** *******************************
Craig Miller was on his typical Mavs hating routine this morning, which apparently inspired Cuban to call in "on his way to work." There was definitely some spin control involved, but overall it was a wonderful and frank interview. Some points:
Dallas wanted in on Miller, but couldn't find a deal that worked from a financial standpoint. He mentioned Avery's contract as not being big enough for what they wanted to get done.

Cuban called Craig on his assertion that Miller is a "banger." Mark said that Miller's strengths are his passing and weakside rebounding, but that he's no more a post presence than Raef. He would have loved to nab Miller, but never had the expectation that he would be the be-all down low.

He said he couldn't understand why San Antonio would go out of their way to help Sacramento pick up a long term replacement for Vlade.

Cuban feels that the main difference between Miller and Raef last year was the talent around them. He singled out Nash and Nick as being unable to keep their guys in front of them, exposing Raef defensively. Miller had strong perimeter defenders and Jermaine O'Neal protecting him.

On the view that Dallas has a habit of focusing on one player and not having backup plans in place -- Mark said that after trading for Nick and Raef, they made the decision before the season was over that they had no intention of spending their big exception on anyone. When they thought they had a chance to get Rashard on the cheap, they made an exception to that rule to chase him alone.

Thankfully the Ticket had Dunham there to speak reasonably and shut up Craig on his Spurs-loving, Mavs-hating mission. George asked Cuban flat-out, "Who is the GM of this team." Without hesitation, Cuban answered, "Donnie." Said something to the effect that Donnie is perfectly comfortable with Don hanging out in Maui because he has everything under control.

Great stuff, really. I'll post more if more comes to mind.

[Simon2]

Originally posted by: Dooby
Synopsis from LMF courtesy of Tyler:
************************************************** *******************************
Craig Miller was on his typical Mavs hating routine this morning, which apparently inspired Cuban to call in "on his way to work." There was definitely some spin control involved, but overall it was a wonderful and frank interview. Some points:
Dallas wanted in on Miller, but couldn't find a deal that worked from a financial standpoint. He mentioned Avery's contract as not being big enough for what they wanted to get done.

Cuban called Craig on his assertion that Miller is a "banger." Mark said that Miller's strengths are his passing and weakside rebounding, but that he's no more a post presence than Raef. He would have loved to nab Miller, but never had the expectation that he would be the be-all down low.

He said he couldn't understand why San Antonio would go out of their way to help Sacramento pick up a long term replacement for Vlade.

Cuban feels that the main difference between Miller and Raef last year was the talent around them. He singled out Nash and Nick as being unable to keep their guys in front of them, exposing Raef defensively. Miller had strong perimeter defenders and Jermaine O'Neal protecting him.

On the view that Dallas has a habit of focusing on one player and not having backup plans in place -- Mark said that after trading for Nick and Raef, they made the decision before the season was over that they had no intention of spending their big exception on anyone. When they thought they had a chance to get Rashard on the cheap, they made an exception to that rule to chase him alone.

Thankfully the Ticket had Dunham there to speak reasonably and shut up Craig on his Spurs-loving, Mavs-hating mission. George asked Cuban flat-out, "Who is the GM of this team." Without hesitation, Cuban answered, "Donnie." Said something to the effect that Donnie is perfectly comfortable with Don hanging out in Maui because he has everything under control.

Great stuff, really. I'll post more if more comes to mind.

Seems like the Ticket was surprised Cuban did say Donnie. I guess that was the first public announcement of the roles in the organization. I wished though that they followed up with: "Why wasn't Donnie in Miami with you then?" Did you hear Cuban say that Miller only shot 49% from the field? Isn't that a good %?

[uberfan]

I think you can add the Mavs to the group of Dallas area teams that will be trying to cut salaries; Rangers & Stars. Cowboys already made that move.

If Raef to NYK rumors prove true, expect to see Ward bought out, KT and AJ contracts allowed to expire.

If you see NVE being moved for shorter terms contracts sometime this year, then you know that is the plan.

[u2sarajevo]

Originally posted by: Simon2
Seems like the Ticket was surprised Cuban did say Donnie. I guess that was the first public announcement of the roles in the organization. I wished though that they followed up with: "Why wasn't Donnie in Miami with you then?" Did you hear Cuban say that Miller only shot 49% from the field? Isn't that a good %?

I don't want to pick apart Cubans statements, but I think when he stated Miller's shooting percentage being 49% he was comparing it to Raef's at 52%, that was why the only reference came in. I seriously think Cuban is making a case for trading Raef, or making a case for standing pat and selling us the same team as last year being improved, rightfully I might add, with a superstar like Dirk who is continually improving(he mentioned his upside potential has not been reached and I think we can all agree on that).

[u2sarajevo]

Originally posted by: uberfan
I think you can add the Mavs to the group of Dallas area teams that will be trying to cut salaries; Rangers & Stars. Cowboys already made that move.

If Raef to NYK rumors prove true, expect to see Ward bought out, KT and AJ contracts allowed to expire.

If you see NVE being moved for shorter terms contracts sometime this year, then you know that is the plan.

I think that we have to expect that to happen. If it means getting rid of bad contracts that will handcuff us for years, I am all for it.

[Fah Q]

Originally posted by: u2sarajevo

I think that we have to expect that to happen. If it means getting rid of bad contracts that will handcuff us for years, I am all for it.

I can't agree with you enough, this team isn't getting any younger. All I care about is building around Dirk.