Dirk Nowitzki renewed his criticism of the tanking strategy favored by Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban on Monday (local time) after the game against Indiana Pacers.
“That’s not the culture you want to have here, where you just give up and don’t play hard,”Nowitzki said after the 109:103 victory over Indiana, the first success after four consecutive defeats in the Locker Room,”I think it’s just the wrong sign for the future.”
It is particularly dangerous for the young players to lose intentionally:”It is important that our young players learn to constantly face the competition and play hard,” says Nowitzki. It’s the only way to play in this league.”
Cuban said last week that losing would be “the best option” for his team and he got a $600,000 fine from the NBA – he has apologized for that now.
Harrison Barnes agreed with Nowitzki on ESPN after the Pacers game:”You don’t want to accept defeats,”said the 25-year-old, who became Warrior Champion in 2015.”If you don’t give everything and just play like that, it can be contagious. It’s OK not to give everything’, then the next season comes and you won’t be able to flip the switch again. It can be a disease.”
The Mavs are currently ranked 12th in the Western Conference with 19 victories and 42 defeats. The Grizzlies, Kings and Suns all have 18 victories to their name.