NEWS: Dirk Joining the Mavs Front Office as a Special Advisor

[KillerLeft]

@"KillerLeft"

Thanks for your thoughtful post.

I think two things are a work in me:

1) Confirmation Bias. But of what? My starting point in understanding Cuban (and I will filter ALL other info through this) is that the two most important things in his life are MONEY and WINNING. I see Cuban as VERY different than Jerry Jones and resent the lumping of the two.  But seriously, I assume that Cuban will not knowingly do anything that will jeopardize this franchise making money or winning (I think being pretend GM is not nearly as important to him as winning). I might be 100% wrong, but these are my starting assumptions and my confirmation bias will always feed my starting assumptions until something changes them.

2) Fandom. I am here to root for the Mavs and be optimistic about their future. That will always be my bias unless I walk away from following them. I will never be a bitter, pessimistic fan, because for ME that is a contradiction and it would add nothing to my life. I don't need more negativity in my life, so I will always remove it where possible. Hence I will always lean toward optimism as a fan.

I have no retort for either reasonable point. I pretty much agree, except...I think #1 can be 100% true without it proving that Cuban isn't the problem. I don't think intent (or his awareness of his own intent) is the most relevant factor.

And, I'm not here to be negative, either. I've made that same #2 point to others, and I still mean/agree with it. It's just that I legitimately don't like what has happened over the past 48 hours. That's all. I'm having a hard time with this. 

For me, I REALLY believed the things I've written around here over the past decade, both in support of the Mavs and disagreeing with them at times. I didn't reach those conclusions because I was a fan - those conclusions made me a fan, or at least enhanced my commitment to being a fan. 

Hopefully, the next Mavs-centric news cycle will make us ALL feel optimistic. I sincerely want to be there with you.