Mavericks owner Mark Cuban revealed to The Post he owns stock in James Dolan’s Cablevision and supports the Knicks owner’s hands-off approach in daily events of the franchise.
Cuban is the most involved owner in the NBA, often seen shooting baskets with his players during pregame warmups and working out with them in their weight room. He attends every game and most practices.
Last month in Dallas, Cuban told a group of New York writers, “If you’re not an involved owner, you’re an idiot. You live with your [salary-cap] mistakes longer than you live with some spouses.”
Considering Dolan’s cap woes and the fact he rarely is around the Knicks, except for one road trip a year, Cuban’s remarks seemed to be a shot at the cable magnate.
“If you haven’t noticed, the cable industry is going through some challenges right now in the stock market,” Cuban told The Post. “I don’t blame him at all for focusing on Cablevision. He has a huge, unjust luxury tax bill to pay that impacts [Cablevision’s] bottom line. As a shareholder, I want him doing exactly that.
“He has great people [working for him] at the Knicks,” Cuban added. “I think [Scott] Layden is a good GM and [Garden president] Steve Mills is doing a great job running the team. Just because the media is impatient doesn’t mean they are doing the wrong thing. If I had a company the size of Cablevision to run, it would be impossible to spend as much time on the Mavs as I do.”
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Mavericks coach Don Nelson, fired during his only season as Knicks coach in 1995-96, tossed another dart Patrick Ewing‘s way when asked about their shaky marriage. “He had lost a lot of his skills at that time, he wasn’t near the player he thought he was,” Nelson said. Nelson tried to de-emphasize Ewing in the offense and was met with overwhelming resistance . . . Nelson repeatedly said following last night’s 101-90 victory that the Kings are the league’s best team, despite Dallas’ record (34-8).