Mark Cuban urges 'common sense' with Kristaps Porzingis rape allegation
Mark Cuban’s Dallas Mavericks scored on perhaps the most shocking transaction of the NBA season when they traded for rising star Kristaps Porzingis from the New York Knicks.
The Knicks shipped the 23-year-old to Dallas in January for Dennis Smith and a package of draft picks and expiring contracts.
It was a coup for the Mavericks, who picked up the budding 7-3 superstar who averaged 22.7 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game while shooting 39.5 percent from 3-point distance before a torn ACL ended his 2017-18 season.
Mavericks bank future on Porzingis, Doncic
Porzingis wasn’t expected to be ready to play until next season, but that didn’t matter to the Mavericks. Paired with Rookie-of-the-Year favorite Luka Doncic, Porzingis arrived in Dallas to create one of the NBA’s most promising young cores.
Meanwhile, folks wondered what the Knicks were thinking. Porzingis was the franchise’s only source of tangible promise and the first decision the team had gotten right in years. The deal didn’t make sense.
The upside for New York was clearing cap space to pursue free agents in this summer’s loaded class that includes Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. But those are hopes. Porzingis was real and under contract.
Rape allegation surfaces months after trade
Months later came the public rape allegation. Porzingis stands accused of sexually assaulting a woman in his New York home and offering her a hush money payment of $68,000 that he allegedly reneged on.
What the Mavericks knew about the allegation when they traded for Porzingis is unclear.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Saturday that the Knicks made the Mavericks and the NBA aware of the allegation. The Dallas Morning News contradicted Wojnarowski’s report on Sunday, citing league sources claiming the Knicks told the Mavericks of an “extortion” attempt, but did not use the word “rape” in describing the trouble surrounding Porzingis.
What is clear that there’s another serious scandal embroiling a Mavericks team that has been mired in sexual harassment and sexual assault allegations in the last two years.
And Cuban, who has been at the center of the firestorm, is willing put his name and face on the scandal.
Cuban: ‘Use some common sense’
When speaking with reporters before Monday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers, Cuban said that he had been instructed by federal authorities to not comment on the Porzingis situation.
He then proceeded to comment in video provided by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
“I will say this,” Cuban said with a grin on his face. “Some people need to do their homework and use some common sense. A little bit of common sense is so enlightening.”
When asked to elaborate on what he meant by common sense, Cuban again smiled and said “just general things, topics. It’s so enlightening.”
Cuban then again leaned on the gag order from federal authorities while declining to further elaborate.
Sexual assault allegation against Cuban
Cuban himself has been at the center of a sexual assault allegation.
Police investigated Cuban for a 2011 incident in which a woman said he “thrust his hand down the back of her jeans and penetrated her vagina with his finger” while they were posing for a photograph at a Portland, Oregon night club.
Cuban denied the allegation and was not charged due to insufficient evidence.
Cuban’s comments on top of hush money report
Cuban’s comments Monday came on the same day that ESPN reported on obtaining a copy of the alleged hush agreement between Porzingis and the alleged victim that spelled out the terms of a $68,000 payment.
Per the report:
"This agreement effective February 7, 2018, acknowledges the fact that an unexpected escalated sexual intercourse due to an inevitable physical attraction on the part of [Porzingis] occurred subsequently, warrants compensation payable towards [the woman's] siblings college tuition in the amount of $68,000.”
Cuban’s no-comment comment not so subtle
We don’t know if Cuban was aware of the specifics of the rape allegation against Porzingis when the Mavericks traded for him. Multiple reports make it clear that he did know about what was described as an “extortion” attempt against Porzingis.
Meanwhile, Cuban is making sly comments tip-toeing around the rape allegation and reported extortion language conveyed by the Knicks, leaving others to figure out what he means by “common sense.”
Given his history and the upsized hopes his franchise has invested in Porzingis, it’s not hard to do the math on what his implications are.
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