Mark Cuban: Brooklyn Nets In Position “We Didn’t Want To Be In”

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is no stranger to transparency when it comes to his feelings about other teams (or referees), and when asked about the Brooklyn Nets, he reiterated that he feels blessed that his team, unlike the Nets, is not in such a precarious financial position.

When asked about the Nets’ current cap situation, maxed out for the next four years with little upward mobility, Cuban was frank: “That’s the position we didn’t want to be in.”

The Mavericks pursued Nets point guard Deron Williams this summer, offering him the maximum four-year deal worth approximately $75 million; Williams eventually signed with the Nets, who could — and did — offer him five years and $98 million, but Cuban downplayed Williams’s decision as a factor in his thinking, calling that “old, old, old, old news.”

Nets interim head coach P.J. Carlesimo had a curt, playful response to Cuban’s dismissive tone.

“I’m not talking about any one player, but that’s why we were concerned in our approach [last summer]. Because if you sign a max-out guy, you get to a point where you’re above that tax-plus four million, then you’re limited in sign-and-trades, you’re limited in your ability to use the exceptions, there’s all kinds of limitations.”

Cuban was talking about the punitive luxury tax rules in the new collective bargaining agreement, complete with a repeater tax and multiplying tax. With their current salaries, the Nets are in luxury tax territory through the 2015-16 season.

“Unless you think that’s a championship team, it’s going to be tough to improve,” Cuban added. That’s been the message I’ve been giving the fans in Dallas here since the CBA [was implemented], and that’s been guiding our approach. … Our goal is to win championships, not win the summer.”