On the same day that Sports Illustrated published a report outlining several instances of sexual misconduct within the Dallas Mavericks organization, the NBA has fined team owner Mark Cuban for comments about tanking.
The league announced today that Cuban has been fined $600,000 for the remarks he made during an appearance on Julius Erving's podcast. Yes, Dr. J has a podcast.
In speaking with Erving, Cuban explained how he told his guys "losing is our best option," which he knew commissioner Adam Silver would not approve of.
"I'm probably not supposed to say this, but, like, I just had dinner with a bunch of our guys the other night, and here we are, you know, we weren't competing for the playoffs. I was like, 'Look, losing is our best option. [Commissioner] Adam [Silver] would hate hearing that, but I at least sat down and I explained it to them. And I explained what our plans were going to be this summer, that we're not going to tank again. This was, like, a year-and-a-half tanking, and that was too brutal for me. But being transparent, I think that's the key to being kind of a players owner and having stability."
According to ESPN's Darren Rovell, the $600,000 fine is the largest of the 20 fines Cuban has been forced to pay over his career, including a $500,000 fine for criticizing officials in 2002. Of course, this fine is the least of Cuban's worries at the moment.