The NBA is in the midst one of the most eventful offseasons in recent memory, and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban believes the seismic changes that occurred across the league will lead to a “wide open” 2019-20 season.
During an appearance Tuesday on CBS Sports’ “Kanell and Bell” radio program, Cuban argued that the incredible amount of player movement will lead to increased parity in the NBA. This, Cuban, believes, creates a more compelling on-court product when compared to how it’s been only a handful of teams legitimately vying for an NBA title at every season’s end of late.
“I think this summer, it really benefit[t]ed the NBA,” Cuban said. “We went from the Warriors being a dynasty to being wide open. The best way to judge that is our ticket sales. Last year, there were two teams that never played to an empty seat: whatever team LeBron (James) was on or playing, and the Warriors don’t play to an empty seat anywhere in the league. Everybody else had to hustle to sell tickets. Now that’s different.”
After a years-long run of the Golden State Warriors dominating the NBA, many believe the team may fall back into the pack a bit.
Further, two teams in the Western Conference have loaded up significantly, with the LeBron James-led Los Angeles Lakers acquiring Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Clippers bringing in both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
Add in the Houston Rockets trading for Russell Westbrook in exchange for Chris Paul to go alongside James Harden, the case can be made that there could be a four-way race in the West for a spot in the NBA Finals, and that’s discounting teams like the Portland Trail Blazers, Denver Nuggets and possibly even Cuban’s own Mavericks, thanks to the pairing of Kristaps Porzingis with Luka Doncic.
“You’re going to have two stars on a lot of different teams,” Cuban added. “Now the Lakers, Warriors, Clippers, Bucks and Rockets might be a draw. So you’re going to have more teams that are able to sell more tickets and that’s going to benefit the entire NBA.”
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