As America slowly reopens for business and recreation, it’s natural for people to take a close look at what the new normal really looks like.
For Mark Cuban, that also means taking stock about what has gotten us to this point. And while some people remain angry about what we’ve been through during the past few months, Cuban sees it a little differently.
Following is a quick question-and-answer session that mavs.com had with the owner, touching on several topics related to the coronavirus and basketball’s return.
Mavs.com: How confident are you that the proposed July 31 restart to the NBA season will in fact happen?
Cuban: “I’m hopeful and optimistic. Look, we’ve seen states open up and we’ve seen cases increase, but we haven’t seen much in the way of deaths increase. I think over the next 30 to 60 days before we actually play, science will get better and we’ll understand more about what’s going on.”
Mavs.com: Looking back, what do you think could have – or should have – been done differently with how the crisis was handled?
Cuban: “There’s a lot of commentary about whether this was a hoax, whether it was real, whether it wasn’t real, who took the right steps, which states, which mayors, who shut businesses down, who was too dramatic, who didn’t do the right thing, who did the right thing?
People really don’t realize that March 11 was the first day we really started getting serious about all this. And here we are just three months later. And the idea that we would have all the information and make all the right decisions is crazy. When you have imperfect information and information that’s changing every day, you’re going to make imperfect decisions. So we’ll find out over the next few months that hindsight is 20-20.”
Mavs.com: So how do you think we’ve come out of this?
Cuban: “I think we all have to recognize that there were no right answers, there were no wrong answers. I think being hyper-vigilant was a plus as opposed to a negative even though it cost a lot of people a lot of jobs and a lot of pain. Again, in uncertain times, if it would have been a lot worse and a lot more viral than we expected, it could have been horrific.
“The main point is we’re playing this blame game right now, and that’s counter-productive. The whole idea of assigning partisan blame is even worse. That shows a lack of leadership from both sides. And everybody has to recognize that in three months when we really started taking this seriously, we’ve gotten to a point where, OK, we’re flattened. We still don’t know everything. But we’re starting to feel a little more confident. And that’s a plus, no matter how you look at it. We still have to be vigilant. There’s still a lot of uncertainty, but we’re going to keep on making progress. And the whole blame game is ridiculous.
Mavs.com: What kind of reactions do you expect from Mavericks’ players when they get back on the court for practices and games?
Cuban: “Do I think our players are going to take steps to really express their views? Absolutely. And we’re going to be fully supportive of it, whatever they may do.
Twitter: @ESefko
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