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Is it appropriate and accurate for Mark Cuban to shoulder all the accountability for the Mavericks missing the playoffs? "Yeah, I mean, it’s not Tyson’s fault or the guys’ or J.J.’s," Dirk Nowitzki said. "Obviously, winning it all, they got a better deal somewhere else. You can’t fault the guys for going there where the money is. I guess that’s part of the business. We let the guys go and it is what it is. "I said it all year long, that we can’t judge yet if it was a mistake or not. I think it’s going to depend on this offseason. If we end up empty-handed again, then maybe it was the wrong decision to let everybody go. But if we make a good move here with all this cap space, then maybe it wasn’t all bad. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what this summer brings." ESPN.com

Dallas Mavericks, Dirk Nowitzki, Mark Cuban 

It took a few seconds for owner Mark Cuban to compare the Dallas Mavericks not qualifying for the playoffs to any of his other business ventures. “I guess it’s like a business going out of business, and I haven’t had many of those,” Cuban said. “Not a good feeling.” And not a feeling Cuban wants to experience again. Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban 

Does that mean Carter will be with the Mavericks beyond next season, when his contract expires? “I hope so,” Cuban said. “The current trend is, as guys get older, they lose a little weight and I think Vince is athletic enough and smart enough and genetically gifted enough that if he goes on that same Steve Nash, Dirk, Tim Duncan path, where you lose a little bit of weight every year and keep your spring, he’s a genetic freak. “He can play for more than a year, easily. He’ll be cranking those motorcycle handles for a while.” Dallas Morning News

Dallas Mavericks, Vince Carter, Mark Cuban 

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban blames himself for the franchise's failure to make the playoffs this season. The Mavs were officially eliminated Wednesday night, ending a 12-year postseason streak that featured two trips to the NBA Finals and one championship. While Dirk Nowitzki missed a career-high 29 games because of injury, Cuban acknowledges he failed to construct a roster good enough to give the Mavs a chance to contend. "We obviously should have had more," Cuban said before Friday's home game against the Denver Nuggets. "I don't know if we could have, but we should have. And so it's all on me. If that means I let (coach Rick Carlisle) down, I let Rick down. "People always give me s---. 'Why do you put your email up on the screen? And why are you always out front?' This is why. So if someone's got a shot to take, take it at me. My job is to make sure we put everybody in position to succeed and we obviously didn't." ESPN.com

Dallas Mavericks, Dirk Nowitzki, Mark Cuban 

Cuban later insisted he believed the Mavs were better off without Williams, but he accepts the fault for this season's flawed roster and intends to fix it this summer when nine Mavs' contracts will expire. "Look, it didn't work out the way we planned," Cuban said. "It's all on me and Donnie. Period. End of story. It's our job to put people in position to succeed. We didn't do enough of it. "It's not an apology. That's just the nature of the beast. I bust my ass to do as best as we can. No one hates losing more than me, so I'll keep on busting my ass and hopefully it will change." ESPN.com

Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban 

So the search for a major talent upgrade will continue this summer. "Trust me, we want to do that," Cuban said Wednesday evening, referring to giving Nowitzki a legitimate co-star. "If you've got the guy who's going to say, 'You know what, I'm going to come to the Mavericks no matter what,' let me know." ESPN.com

Dallas Mavericks, Free Agency, Dirk Nowitzki, Mark Cuban 

When Dirk Nowitzki said on Sunday that he would be happy to accompany owner Mark Cuban on any recruiting trips he makes when free agency opens on July 1, it was great news for Cuban. Could he envision a tag-team recruiting pitch? “Yeah, obviously,” Cuban said. “He hasn’t been shy to make calls in the past. He just hasn’t been in the country. He’s happy to text and make calls. He just hasn’t been here. Dirk will do anything. He’s a team player from top to bottom.” Dallas Morning News

Dallas Mavericks, Free Agency, Dirk Nowitzki, Mark Cuban 

It had been at least a few days since anybody had heard Brittney Griner's name around the Mavericks' offices, so it was time for Mark Cuban to bring the Baylor star up again. This time, it sounded as if he's throwing ice water on the hot issue of her ever being in the NBA. "To clarify one thing," he said, "we're not going to change the approach. She would have to go through the same process as everybody. Point being, I want to get the best player, no questions." Dallas Morning News

Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, Brittney Griner 

"Of course he doesn't want to fight for an eighth seed in the future; none of us do," Cuban told USA TODAY Sports via e-mail. "Beyond that, like he has told me and the world, he can't see himself being anywhere else." USA Today Sports

Dallas Mavericks, Dirk Nowitzki, Mark Cuban 

Brittney Griner is ready to take Mark Cuban up on his offer to draft her. The Baylor star says she’s open to an NBA tryout after the WNBA season ends. “When are tryouts?” Griner asked Saturday at the Final Four. “The WNBA is where I’m at. That’s where I’m going. After that, if I get a shot, why turn down something like that? That’s big, even if you don’t make it. Hey, at least you tried. Somebody pushed the envelope.” Dallas Morning News

Dallas Mavericks, Draft, Mark Cuban, Brittney Griner 

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, contacted by TMZ for his comment about comments made by Magic Johnson, said he would be honored if the Mavericks had a gay player. Here is a transcription of some of Cuban's comments: TMZ: Mark have you seen the Magic Johnson interview that we did. Magic is essentially saying that if anybody from the LA Dodgers comes out, he will not only be supported, he'll be protected. What's your feeling? Mark Cuban: Exact same thing. I would do it the exact same way. I've been saying the same thing for years. There will be somebody who comes out. It'll be a great moment for sports. I would be honored if he was on my team. I think things have changed, significantly, in that the players would accept him. All professional sports have had their homophobic missteps along the way, it's a new era, a new generation and the player would be accepted. I think we are starting, at least on the edges, break down those barriers. This shouldn't be a big deal. I applaud Magic for being willing to step out and show leadership like he always has. Dallas Morning News

Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, Magic Johnson 

After Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said he would consider drafting Baylor's Brittney Griner, the age-old debate took off. Can the girls compete with the boys? Nancy Lieberman has a better perspective than most. "There's not a man who would sell his soul and let her come down and dunk on him. They are going to knock her on her ass," Lieberman, the first woman to play in a men's professional league, said Wednesday. Since the 6-8 Griner plays the post, there is no way that she can physically compete with NBA players, Lieberman, one of the game's all-time greats, said. USA Today Sports

Dallas Mavericks, Draft, Mark Cuban, Nancy Lieberman, Brittney Griner 

Even so, Lieberman, who played in the USBL in the late 1980s, said if Griner called her tomorrow for advice about the NBA, she would tell her: "Do it, girl. You can do this. You should go out there if you're afforded the opportunity because how many people in their lifetime would? You're going to do what nobody has ever done." USA Today Sports

Dallas Mavericks, Draft, Mark Cuban, Nancy Lieberman, Brittney Griner 

Then there was UConn coach Geno Auriemma who said Cuban shouldn't waste his draft pick on June 27. "I think it would be a sham," Auriemma said Wednesday. "The fact that a woman could actually play right now in the NBA and compete successfully against the level of play that they have is absolutely ludicrous." "If Brittney Griner tries to make it to an NBA team, I think it would be a public relations thing," Auriemma said on a Final Four teleconference with reporters. Cuban is a financial genius, Auriemma said, but "his genius would take a huge hit if he drafted Brittney Griner." USA Today Sports

Dallas Mavericks, Draft, Mark Cuban, Nancy Lieberman, Geno Auriemma, Brittney Griner 

Cuban reiterated his interest in Griner on Wednesday. "We evaluate every draft eligible player on the planet," Cuban told USA TODAY Sports in an email when asked to respond to Auriemma's comments. "The chance of any college graduate selected at the end of the draft making a roster is very, very small. We wouldn't be doing our job if we didn't consider everyone. "As I told the media (Tuesday), she would have to excel in workouts to get drafted. I have no problem giving her that opportunity. I hope she gives it a shot. "Nothing harms an organization or company more than a closed mind." USA Today Sports

Dallas Mavericks, Draft, Mark Cuban, Nancy Lieberman, Geno Auriemma, Brittney Griner 

Mark Cuban understands marketing. He understands (and admits) how good stars like Shaquille O’Neal and Phil Jackson are for the league. But that doesn’t mean he could resist taking a dig at his old rival Tuesday night when Jackson was in Staples Center to honor Shaquille O’Neal at his number retirement. “I have great respect for Phil, Jeanie’s husband as he’ll be now be known. Someone’s got to be the first housewife of the Lakers,” Cuban said. NBCSports.com

Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers, Phil Jackson, Coaching, Mark Cuban 

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban would be willing to give Baylor women's star Brittney Griner the opportunity to prove she could play in the NBA. Cuban said he would consider selecting Griner, a 6-foot-8 three-time All-American and Big 12 player of the year, in the second round of the NBA draft. If the Mavs don't draft her, Cuban said he would have "no problem whatsoever" inviting Griner to try out for a spot on Dallas' summer league team. "If she is the best on the board, I will take her," Cuban said before the Mavs' Tuesday night game against the Los Angeles Lakers. "I've thought about it. I've thought about it already. Would I do it? Right now, I'd lean toward yes, just to see if she can do it. You never know unless you give somebody a chance, and it's not like the likelihood of any late-50s draft pick has a good chance of making it." ESPN.com

Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, Brittney Griner 

Griner would love the opportunity. "I would hold my own! Lets do it." she wrote on Twitter on Tuesday night in response to Cuban. ESPN.com

Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, Brittney Griner 

Cuban said it's difficult to evaluate whether Griner could play in the NBA because of the caliber of her competition, comparing it to scouting players from small schools. However, Cuban said he was absolutely serious about at least extending an invitation for Griner to try out this summer. "She'd still have to make the team," Cuban said. "I'm not going to carry her just to carry her. I don't think, anyways. But I certainly wouldn't be opposed to giving her the opportunity." ESPN.com

Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, Brittney Griner 

David Brickley: "He was my mentor, but not in the way you’d expect. Even now I think back to things he did, and I do the opposite." - Mark Cuban Twitter @DavidjBrickley

Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban