Cuban Says Mavs 'Did Everything Possible' To Tank After Being Eliminated
By Josh Clark
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DALLAS (105.3 The Fan) - Mavericks owner Mark Cuban admitted Wednesday that the club tried to lose games after they were eliminated from playoff contention.
During an appearance on the Dan Patrick Show, Cuban said, "once we were eliminated from the playoffs we did everything possible to lose games."
When asked how they tanked, Cuban said they just simply played their young players, which they did, sort of.
Dallas went 2-8 in their final 10 games of the season but surprisingly won their last game in Memphis.
In that game, point guard Devin Harris, a 15-year veteran, scored 15 points on 6-12 shooting in 20 minutes of action. The 15 points tied him with Nicolas Brussino for the most points by a Maverick in the game.
In Cuban's defense, that particular game and others down the stretch did include the Salah Mejri's and Dorian-Finney Smith's getting most of the minutes. But it can definitely be characterized as a missed opportunity when the team Dallas could have been tied with (Sacramento) had they lost ... moved from the eighth spot to the third spot in Tuesday night's NBA Lottery.
Would Dallas have been guaranteed the same No. 3 pick? No. But they would have had slightly better odds had they lost.
The Mavericks will now turn their attention to June's draft, where they'll be picking ninth.
