Mark Cuban loves Dirk Nowitzki like a son, and the two have built a relationship that goes beyond the professional level over the course of Nowitzki’s stellar 15-year career with the Dallas Mavericks.
It’s fine to have those feelings cloud Cuban’s sense of reality a bit where basketball is concerned; just don’t expect the rest of us to blindly follow those beliefs.
The latest comments from Cuban in trying to sell us on the wonders of Dirk at this late stage of his career center on the fact that he believes people have “dismissed” Nowitzki’s ability, and sees no reason why his All-World big man couldn’t come away with the MVP award, even at age 35.
From Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas:“If there’s one missing piece between what everyone is saying and what we’re doing, everybody, I think, has dismissed Dirk -- like Dirk is done and he’s on the downside and he can’t play anymore and he’s not the type of contributor that he was,” Cuban said during an appearance on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM’s Galloway and Company.
“Knock on wood, if we stay healthy, I think people are just missing Dirk in ways they shouldn’t,” Cuban said. “Like I’ve been telling him, Karl Malone won an MVP at 35 and there’s no reason why he can’t be considered in an MVP conversation at 35.”
Yeah, no.
To be fair, however, the “MVP conversation” can contain a whole host of players that never have any actual chance of taking home the trophy. Tony Parker was in it at times last season, as were Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul.
And honestly, as long as LeBron James is in his prime and plays the bulk of the regular season without injury, any player in the league would be hard-pressed to make a case that they are more deserving of the award than he is.
There may be some truth to the theory that people are discounting just how valuable Nowitzki might be at this point, but we won’t be fully sold until he returns to playing at an All-Star level -- especially by someone as biased on the matter as the owner of the Mavericks.