06-27-2021, 03:21 PM
(This post was last modified: 06-27-2021, 03:23 PM by KillerLeft.)
(06-27-2021, 02:55 PM)TXBamanut Wrote: I'd still hang in there if we signed or traded for him, maybe even be a little excited, but man...if he's done already in LA because of the training staff...with his track record of bolting...I would highly question his loyalty, and I'd expect him to quit when things didn't go his way.
Kawhi Leonard is a different sort of dude, no question about that.
Ultimately, I wonder whether he's a fit here, for "culture" reasons. Here's an interview Cuban did not too long ago in which he talks frankly about his feeling that it's best not to treat the best players too differently than others. Now, I completely agree with what he's saying here, but I'm not sure if this type of philosophy fits with his strategy of "big game hunting" very well at all. All throughout this interview (recommend the entire thing, not just this clip), over a wide variety of topics, including tampering, he keeps bringing the conversation back to peripheral friends and family members getting in the way, and how the players and agents aren't really a problem. I don't know that he's specifically envisioning Kawhi's Uncle Dennis, but that guy is probably the second most well known example of this type of character (next to LaVar Ball). The most relevant section starts at around the 9:00 mark.
https://youtu.be/Gxd7O0cUAYs
I think that Cuban has the right of this, from the "right and wrong" and "what's best for team culture" perspectives, but I also feel that this puts the Mavs at a severe disadvantage when it comes to signing guys like Kawhi Leonard.
For those who don't know this story, which is crazy, here's another clip from the same interview that includes the tale of how Kobe Bryant was almost a Maverick:
https://youtu.be/7SlIRh3XnaQ