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BY JOSEPH GOODMAN
jgoodman@MiamiHerald.com
11/28/2010
DALLAS -- Dripping with sweat during a pregame workout, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban told reporters Saturday that he offered forward LeBron James and James' friend and manager Maverick Carter some perspective before James decided to sign with the Heat this summer.
``Before he made his decision, what I told him was, and what I told Maverick, was that no team had ever blown up their team . . . and then added a couple free agents and won a championship,'' Cuban said. ``It's always taken someone coming from a good team to make it better and put them over the top. That's what I told him, and that's what I told Maverick.''
Cuban has been critical of the Heat ever since James and Chris Bosh joined Dwyane Wade in Miami. Recently, Cuban called the Heat's slow start to the season ``glorious.'' James said Saturday that Dallas was one of the teams he considered this summer before signing with the Heat.
``This is definitely one of the teams I looked at, being a veteran ball club,'' James said. ``Guys got a lot of winners on their team, but I guess you guys know where I ended up at.''
James and Cuban communicated through text messages this summer. James seemed to be impressed with Cuban's negotiation skills.
``He's a very sly guy, man,'' James said. ``Guys that know Mark -- he wants to win and he does what's best for his team and he's very passionate about it.''
A pregame routine for Cuban, the Mavs' owner worked out vigorously on a stair-climbing machine before the game in the team's locker room. Dallas' locker room features a workout facility for players as well as flat-screen TVs in every locker. Cuban exercises alongside his players, shoots jump shots on the court before the game and sits next to the team's bench during games.
Before Saturday's game, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra was asked about the continuous stream of criticism aimed toward the Heat. Spoelstra joked that there was so much criticism that he had forgotten about Cuban's negative remarks regarding the team's sluggish start.
``It's unfortunate, it really is -- some of the comments that have been out there. But that's the reality of the way this team will be viewed, and we have bigger aspirations than just shutting everybody up,'' Spoelstra said. ``We have high goals for this season, and we have a lot of work to do.''
Cuban tempered his comments about the Heat on Saturday.
``The Mavs were 0-4 and ended up winning 67 games [in 2006-07],'' Cuban said. ``So, you just don't know. They could win out. Hopefully, not until after we play them in December.''
NEED FOR SPEED
The Heat's offense has been deliberate to begin the season, averaging 100.7 points (16th in the NBA). James said he would like those numbers to improve. One area of offense where the Heat could increase its scoring is fast-break points.
``We would love to be more of a fast team, but first we've got to get stops,'' James said. ``It's hard to be a fast team when you're taking the ball out of the net. Early on, in the first week or two, we were playing great defense and we were able to get out and get some points, but it's something we're more conscious of it now.
``First of all, let's get stops, close it out with defensive rebounding and go. That's our best offense because we're all fast and athletic.''
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