Mavericks owner Mark Cuban: Hopefully we’re playing again ‘by the middle of May’
Nobody knows for sure when the NBA, and the rest of the sports world, can get back to the status quo amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, however, is hopeful that the league can restart — at least in some form — in about six or seven weeks.
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"No one has perfect information right now, so all decisions are tough, but if I had to guess based off the people I've talked to at the CDC and other places, I would say that the over-under [for a restart] would be June 1, and I'm taking the under," Cuban said Tuesday, via WFAA in Dallas.
"Hopefully by the middle of May we're starting to get back to normal and the NBA is playing games, maybe not with fans [in attendance], but we're playing games."
Mark Cuban: ""Hopefully by the middle of May, we're starting to get back to normal and the NBA is playing games."#Mavs #NBA @WFAA @WFAASports pic.twitter.com/rs7NGIPsqI
— Mike Leslie (@MikeLeslieWFAA) March 24, 2020
Cuban has been extremely vocal since the league went on hiatus. He quickly pledged to set up a way to pay American Airlines Center and Mavericks employees who are now out of work, and was the first owner to do so. He even went off on Congress on social media on Tuesday after seeing Texas Senator John Cornyn’s “blah blah blah” tweet at Senator Chuck Schumer, who was explaining why he and other’s voted against a coronavirus relief bill.
Cuban: ‘Hopefully we’ll lead the way out of this’
The NBA suspended operations on March 11, almost instantly after Utah Jazz veteran Rudy Gobert tested positive for the coronavirus. According to ESPN, the league has viewed a mid-June return as the best possible scenario. NBA commissioner Adam Silver said last week that they are going to “try by every means we can to play basketball again,” but won’t do so until they are told it’s possible by public health officials.
"Sports plays such an important role," Cuban said, via WFAA. "People want something to cheer for, people want something to rally around. People want something to be excited about, and if the Mavs and the NBA in general can get out there and start playing games in May so that they're on TV, sports is what we need right now."
The NBA, in a sense, led the sports world at the start of the pandemic after Gobert’s positive test two weeks ago as nearly every sports league in the country quickly followed the league’s lead and suspended operations hours and days later.
Whenever things do get back to normal, Cuban expects the NBA to be right out front once again, too.
"I'm proud of the NBA and the way we've reacted," Cuban said, via WFAA. "I think we've led the way and hopefully we’ll lead the way out of this ... But I think we need [sports], and I think the NBA is ready to play that role."
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