http://blogs.rockymountainnews.com/n...uban_expe.htmlMark Cuban expecting J.R. Smith to be suspended
By Chris Tomasson
Rocky Mountain News
Dallas owner Mark Cuban indicated he will file a complaint to the NBA about an elbow thrown Tuesday night by Nuggets guard J.R. Smith, and he expects Smith to be suspended.
In e-mails to the Rocky Mountain News early Wednesday morning, Cuban was critical of an elbow thrown by Smith in the final seconds of the first half of Denver's 99-97 win over the Mavericks at the Pepsi Center.
"I do take exception with players throwing elbows that could have severely injured one of our players,'' Cuban wrote. "I was very cordial in letting Mr. Smith know (at halftime) that I will be turning it into the league, and I expected him to be suspended for it.''
Nuggets coach George Karl referred to the incident speaking to reporters after the game. He took exception to Cuban talking to Smith at halftime.
"I don't care if Cuban barks, but he shouldn't be barking at my players,'' Karl said. "He barked at J.R. at halftime. I thought it was very unprofessional, irresponsible. And, if he sees something that he wants to deliver to the league, fine, he can do that.
"But he shouldn't be on the court talking to one of my players. And he was talking to J.R. about an elbow situation. And I thought it doesn't look good for anybody.''
Cuban was asked via e-mail about Karl's comments, about the elbowing incident and about Cuban's post-game conduct. Cuban went onto the court after the game, and was seen yelling at someone soon after a controversial officials call with 2.2 seconds left that allowed Denver's Chauncey Billups to hit two game-winning free throws. Cuban claimed he wasn't yelling at the officials.
Cuban took exception to Smith's elbow. Cuban wrote that after the game Smith sent him a pair of signed shoes in an apparent goodwill gesture, and Cuban declined them.
The Rocky Mountain News viewed the Smith incident on an Al ude replay. In the final seconds of the first half, Smith threw an elbow toward the head of Dallas swingman Antoine Wright that missed.
"Away from the play, J.R. threw a full-force elbow right at Wright's head,'' Cuban wrote. "Barely missed connecting... That's uncalled for. He could have severely hurt him.
"And you can ask George why he is condoning his players throwing elbows at people's heads away from the play? He thinks that looks good?''
Cuban did not believe he was out of line talking to Smith at halftime.
"I have conversations with a lot of players,'' Cuban wrote. "Often. It's no big deal. I talked to Chauncey, other guys. It happens pretty much every game. All very cordial.''
Cuban wrote that a Nuggets official, whom he did not name, dissuaded him from talking to Smith at halftime.
"The professional thing to do would be to find out what the issue was and the volunteer to address it with his player,'' Cuban wrote. "One of (the Nuggets') people came up to me, told me to not talk to the player, at which point I told him I would be very happy to discuss it with him. It would have given the Nuggets the opportunity to discuss it with J.R. Instead, the Nuggets official just walked away.
"My conversation with J.R. was actually very cordial and levelheaded. I told him that it's not cool to throw elbows at someone's head, that I would be turning it into the league. He politely and cordially told me our player (Wright) had grabbed him before that. I told him that, if our guy did something wrong, I will say something to the player and he should turn it into the league . No 'barking.' There were several other Nuggets right there. They made the point to tell me J.R. and our guy 'had history.'
Cuban wrote he spoke to Wright at halftime.
"I went to our player and told him that he was not to retaliate, that I would deal with it with the player and the league,'' Cuban wrote. "He agreed.''
Cuban made reference a brawl the Nuggets had at New York in December 2006. Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony was suspended for 15 games for his role in the incident, and Smith got a 10-game penalty.
"The professional thing to do was to make sure that an altercation was avoided and that throwing elbows at another player's head would have consequences with the league,'' Cuban wrote. "You would think that the Nuggets already had a bad enough experience in this type of situation that they would be overly cautious at even the slightest red flag.''
Cuban wrote Smith made an apparent goodwill gesture after the game.
"The humorous part of the whole thing was that, after the game, J.R. sent over to our locker room a signed pair of shoes for me,'' Cuban wrote. "I sent them back, saying he should sell them, if you could get anything for them, to help pay for the fine he was going to face.''
It was a tough day for Smith. He was cited for contempt of court earlier Tuesday for failing to appear at a hearing in New Jersey regarding traffic summonses from a 2007 accident in which his passenger died, and he shot 1-of-14 for two points against the Mavericks.
Meanwhile, ESPN, while showing game highlights, mentioned the possibility of Cuban being fined for going onto the court after the game. With 2.2 seconds left and the score tied 97-97, Dallas guard Jason Terry was called for a foul on Billups. Terry said it was a bad call.
"The guy said I hit him with the body,'' Terry said. "There was no body at all. He kicked his leg out falling down so I don't see how I could hit him with the body. He saw it different and that happens. Human error.''
Following Billups' two free throws, the Mavericks had no timeouts left, and a desperation full-court pass failed. Cuban then went onto the court after the final buzzer.
"That last call on Chauncey could have gone either way,'' Cuban wrote. "And I didn't run onto the court. I walked off the court the same way I do after every game, right next to our coaches. And I wasn't talking to the refs, I was talking to someone else (not named by Cuban) who was quite clear in their pleasure of their team winning the game and mocking the fact they got away with the calls. I definitely wasn't as polite to them (as Cuban claimed he was to Smith).''
This guy should just stop attending games and start watching them from his lounge room. Elbows get thrown all the time in games, lots of players do it.
Cuban is a little whining . He does way more damage to the game than any good he contributes. Maybe the insider trading charges are getting to him
Cuban has done everything he can to make our beloved mavs a little bit better, despite paying millions of luxury tax to the league and being ridiculed by other teams.
Cuban may not be the most wealthy owner in NBA but he is definitely the most generous one, I still think his dollars deserve our respect though I don't like his personalities.
Im curious, did Cuban make any comments on Jet punching someone's nuts? I bet he was silent then
Cuban wrote that after the game Smith sent him a pair of signed shoes in an apparent goodwill gesture, and Cuban declined them.I wonder if JR Smith came up with that hilarity on his own.
wouldn't suprise me
Cuban somehow seems less and less relevant anymore.
I applaud his philanthropic efforts and think he's done wonders to revive a moribund franchise, but I don't think of him as an owner who makes a substantive difference in the league any more, mostly because antics like these cost him credibility.
Backwards Fighting Pussy:
completely agree... He was entertaining for a while, but now is just annoying. He has passion, but his time in the limelight is over.
Melo looks like a intersexual I'm afraid.Backwards Fighting Pussy:
Cuban is stupid
haha Mark Cuban might as well put on the blue apron
"Why aren't you boys in bed"
"Your curfew is 9 PM sharp!"
"Come home...I just cooked dinner and your father and I are waiting"
I don't think what Cuban did here was wrong. Don't think it was too y at all.
He's trying to protect his players. And, it's not like he went over to JR Smith to get into a fight or even an argument. And apparently JR Smith didn't perceive it that way either.
Cuban can be a weirdo, an attention , and often times a bag. I don't think he's any of those things for this incident.
Really? He may be those things Jamstone mentioned, but stupid doesn't come to mind.
All this because they're going to submit a tape to the league? How is that different from 29 other teams? Isn't every other team in the league guilty of such "antics?"
+1
Teams submit tapes all the time when they feel a call was blown. Smegma-Fan is a for starting this thread.
Peter Holt really seems less relevant after the Spurs submitted a tape to the league showing Jason Terry punching Michael Finley in the nuts.
I applaud his efforts to field a consistent winner in a small-market city, but I don't think of him as an owner who makes a substantive difference in the league any more, mostly because antics like these cost him credibility.
How many other team's owners get out on the court to talk to other team's players?
If he wants to report the issue to the league, that's his right as an owner, no problem there. I'm sure you wouldn't want Peter Holt jawing at JET after a dirty play, and neither do I.
He was doing what any owner would do and thats defend his players.....STFU
I wouldn't care either way.
cuban is a good person, though his mouth always draw him many troubles.
How many owners travel with their team and sit behind the team bench on road games and sit courtside for home games rather than in a box seat? How many owners cheer like real fans for their team? A few years ago, how many owners had individualized computers with internet access at every player's locker? How many owners had first class gourmet chefs cook for the team? How many owners had players from other teams go up to them after the game to shoot the breeze? How many owners had their own reality TV show?
You can't compare Cuban with most other NBA owners because he's never been like most other NBA owners. Cuban might be a jackass and even a bag sometimes, but you cannot just simply say something he does is wrong or way out of line because no other NBA owner would do it. Cuban is obviously different from any other owner in the NBA, even the Maloofs.
I don't even really like Cuban. I do think he's a jackass a lot of times. But come on. You're being a if you really believe he was reaching a new level of iness in this case.
All this because he's the only owner in the league that I've seen go out on the court to argue about what happens during the game. That's far more of an antic than submitting a tape to the league.
Nice play, though, trying to turn my criticism of Cuban into a completely nonsensical comparison.
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