Mark Cuban uses 'tanking' reference to illustrate fierce competition among NBA teams

Dallas Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban was asked about the state of competitiveness in the NBA in his appearance on ESPN's "First Take" on Tuesday. Cuban believes the current level of competition in the NBA is the best it's ever been.

Cuban, who bought the Mavs in 2000, pointed out how far the league has come. He specifically mentioned small market teams, who previously struggled to compete financially.

"I think, competitively, [the NBA] is the best it's ever been," Cuban said. "I remember being in meetings and having small market teams just come and beg for revenue sharing. Now, everybody's competitive."

But while Cuban admits the issue of tanking, or losing to improve their odds for a high draft pick, has still not completely gone away, the league's overall competitiveness remains high despite this.

"There's gonna be teams that tank for Cooper Flagg, that might not work well as the NBA wants, but there are a lot of really good teams."

Cooper Flagg is regarded as one of the best young basketball prospects and is projected to be the No. 1 pick in next year's NBA Draft. He's a five-star recruit who is set to start his collegiate career this season with the Duke Blue Devils.

Many expect teams to tank for the young forward, including the Washington Wizards, Utah Jazz, Chicago Bulls and Brooklyn Nets. The race to "Capture the Flagg" could be one to watch out for fans.

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Mark Cuban expects Klay Thompson's addition to help the Mavs

One of the key additions of the Mavs this summer was Klay Thompson. Dallas acquired the veteran star via a sign-and-trade, giving the team another capable scorer. They are hoping this move to add a proven championship player can put the team over the top after they came up short in the NBA Finals.

Mark Cuban believes that Thompson's addition will be extremely helpful for the team's goal of winning the Larry O'Brien Trophy.

"He hasn't had the benefit yet in the preseason of having Kyrie and Luka out there at the same time," Cuban said. "But that takes all the pressure off of him and either one of them can get the ball to Klay anywhere he wants and that's gonna give him a lot easier shots. Catch and shoot, he's one of the best ever. Having that added to our arsenal, I think it's going to really help us."

Mark Cuban talked about it at the 3:46 mark.

Thompson, a four-time champion with the Golden State Warriors, averaged 17.9 points on 43% shooting from the field and 39% on 3-pointers last season for the Dubs.