Mark Cuban smoked The Athletic on Monday.
Reporters Tim Cato and Sam Amick released a report painting a less-than positive light on the Mavericks front office; the report indicates that star player Luka Doncic has issues with the team, specifically with executive Bob Voulgaris and the seeming inability to build a championship-contending team around him.
The Mavericks owner responded to the report on Twitter later in the day.
Total bullshit https://t.co/vBpYcZTTkI
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) June 14, 2021
"Total bulls—," Cuban's tweet reads.
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He further seem to solidify an idea that the report — and the media — is trying to stir up drama within the Mavericks organization while the team is on the ascent.
💯💯💯which is why the writer didn’t reach out to me till just before the opinion piece was published. And I never spoke to him till after it was posted i conveyed the facts to him then https://t.co/56lMBelEGV
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) June 14, 2021
The Athletic's report says that Voulgaris has amassed so much power and influence within the organization despite his title — officially director of quantitative research and development — that he is the de facto second in command to Cuban.
Before landing in the Mavs front office, Voulgaris had developed a reputation as a prominent sports gambler. Voulgaris' grating personality, The Athletic says, has caused discomfort within the Mavs front office and has strained the relationship with Doncic, with an incident during a game in February being the breaking point.
This isn't the first time that a report has rubbed Cuban the wrong way: Earlier in the year, rumors surfaced that the Mavericks were planning to move on from Kristaps Porzingis this offseason, which Cuban denied.
While Doncic is positioned to sign a super-max deal with Dallas in the near future, all eyes are on the team to see whether Mavericks drama can be tamed.
