Mark Cuban: Barkley Is 'Half Right' With Stats Criticism
DALLAS (105.3 THE FAN) -- Rockets GM Daryl Morey is a staunch supporter of advanced statistics. Charles Barkley thinks he's an idiot.
Mavs owner Mark Cuban, who has never been afraid of bringing innovative ideas to the NBA, sits somewhere in the middle.
"You use analytics as a way to identify guys," said Cuban with Shan & RJ on 105.3 The Fan, "and you use the eye test as a way to confirm or not confirm that they can be of value to your team."
Cuban, who believes Barkley is "half right" in his criticism of advanced stats, has seen the value and danger of trusting statistics in making personnel decisions. Stats and actually watching players can't be separated. They go "hand-in-hand."
"We went out and signed Evan Eschmeyer because of stats and analytics, and that didn't quite work out the way we wanted it to," admitted Cuban. "It helped us come back from a 2-0 deficit against Houston in the playoffs, where we adjusted our lineups based on what the numbers said. And putting JJ in the mix in our championship run -- that also had a lot to do with analytics and numbers."
The biggest problem with using statistics in today's NBA -- everyone is doing it.
Cuban says that many "old school" owners have sold their franchises to younger, "hedge fund" type guys. As a result, more and more teams are enlisting data-driven GMs to make decisions.
"When a couple of teams are using it, you can get an advantage. When everybody is using it, your advantage is pretty much gone. That's where analytics has gotten to now, where pretty much every NBA team uses analytics -- at least some degree."
The Mavs signing of Monta Ellis two years back was seen by many as a poor move, as Ellis has never excelled through the advanced stats filter. At the same time, Ellis had never been surrounded by the same talent and coaching staff that Dallas had to offer.
"It didn't really matter what the analytics were, because we knew that we could make him better," said Cuban. "It was the same thing when we picked up DeSean Stevenson and put him in the lineup."
Cuban, who sees both side of the stats debate, is unwilling to thrust himself into the Morey-Barkley battle -- despite his previous history with Morey.
Barkley went on a rant Tuesday night, calling Morey "one of those idiots who believes in analytics."
"I like Daryl. I actually get along great with him personally," said Cuban. "I'm sure he looks at some of the things I do and shakes his head, and I look at some of the social media things that Daryl does and shake my head. Everybody has a feel for different things. Daryl's strength is not on social media."
And regarding Barkley -- an 11-time All Star, former league MVP, and Hall of Fame member -- could he be a successful GM in the NBA?
"I think Charles, with the right people around him, would be great," said Cuban. "Charles just trying to do it on his own -- would be horrible. Just like any singular person trying to do it own their own would be horrible."
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