In a ridiculous paroxysm Dallas Mavericks’ owner said he doesn’t care about FIBA competition, he will not allow Beaubois to play in Eurobasket 2011 and that he wants to create an international NBA tournament.
Mark Cuban freaked out after his team’s win over New Jersey Nets last night, during an interview to Basket News’ Pascal Giberne. Here are some extracts from the interview (which can be read in full HERE).
P.G.: Are you annoyed by the fact that Beaubois was injured while playing for Francce NT?
M.C.: I’m not irritated, it can happen, but he won’t be playing this summer. His injury must be properly treated, we will be following his progress in the summer, so in order for him to stay healthy he mustn’t play. Foot injuries are unpredictable, as we’ve discovered, so we don’t want to take any chances.
P.G.: Is it frustrating that he can’t play for you (due to injury)?
M.C.: I think international basketball is a joke to start with. If I had the time and funds I would sign contracts with all National Teams which would establish a company with NTs as shareholders and they would share the money amongst themselves instead of giving $2 billions to the Olympic committee. […]
So instead of giving our best players for free to their National Teams so the Olympic Committee and GE (General Electric which owns NBC, which owns Olympic Games TV rights) can make free money I would create an International NBA Basketball Tournament which would allow for NBA to make more money and our players could play without any problems.
P.G.: But it’s not only Olympics, we also have World Championship, Eurobaskets etc…
M.C.: If the Olympics were just about fans there would be no problem, but it is a multi-billion business. You know what kind of person gives his player for free to another person to make money off them? An idiot. And we are all idiots.
P.G.: But the World Championship and Eurobasket do not generate such profits.
M.C.: Yes, yes. They don’t make profit, which is even more stupid. And it is even more stupid because no one watches it. […]
P.G.: But money isn’t everything. What about the sporting interest regarding the competitions?
M.C.: You can create a good competition and generate money. During the World Cup (football), which is more important than the Olympics, they make money and share it with the participants. Nobody knew that the (basketball) World Championship took place, no one watched it. It’s crazy!
P.G.: Do you understand that players want to play for their National Teams?
M.C.: Yes, but these events could belong to the NBA and the players could play for their countries. Imagine if we could establish an international tournament with all NBA available, where Dirk (Nowitzki) would play for Germany and the best NBA players would defend the colours of NBA. […]
P.G.: Have you discussed this project with David Stern (NBA) and Yvan Mainini (FIBA)?
M.C.: I bet FIBA President would have a heart attack if he heard about this. But who cares. I don’t care about FIBA. It’s a business and we must take care of it by making the best decisions. We must re-create it. It would be cool to have 85 international (NBA) players eligible for this tournament, playing for their countries. […]
P.G.: It’s impossible since there are not enough international NBA players to go around…
M.C.: No, it would be the same (as in FIBA competitions). We don’t have a dozen German players in NBA, so the others (non-NBA German internationals) would play for us and not GE (General Electric).
P.G.: So GE wants to make money on your back?
M.C.: Yes, and it doesn’t make any sense. We take all the risks and they take all the money. We have the best arenas. The National Teams should not be training for Olympics and World Championships but for NBA International Tournament. And every four years we would have a “bitchin” big tournament. It would be “bitchin” enormous.
[…]
P.G.: Could the 30 clubs owners fund this project?
M.C.: Yes, and in that way everyone would be involved.
P.G.: Would you be less angry if Beaubois got injured during this NBA International Tournament?
M.C.: Yes, because it would be my business. He would have done something beneficial for the organisation. These things happen, people get hurt. But right now they (injuries) have no meaning. If FIBA competitions are so important tell me why free agents never take part in them?
P.G.: Boris Diaw has played in a Eurobasket as a free agent
M.C. Boris is the exception. […]
SOURCE AND FULL INTERVIEW: Basket News
