Mark Cuban: I'd think about drafting Baylor's Brittney Griner
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said he would consider picking Baylor women's basketball star Brittney Griner in the NBA Draft, reports ProBasketballTalk's Kurt Helin.
“If she is the best on the board, I would take her,” Cuban said, according to Helin's report. “I’ve thought about it. I’ve thought about it already. Would I do it? Right now, I’d lean toward yes, just to see if she can do it. You never know unless you give somebody a chance.”
Griner, at 6-foot-8, has enough size to make the move plausible. She has the skill, too. She won the Naismith Award last season as the best player in the game and could repeat this season. She's been dominant throughout her career and, despite Baylor's stunning loss to Louisville on Sunday, she will go down as one of the best college players in the game's history.
Adjusting to the athleticism of the men's game would probably be her biggest challenge. She has played in the post her entire career but would be overmatched against most NBA post players. But if forced to move outside and guard players on the wing, she would be facing much faster competition.
Griner sounds like she is willing to give it a shot, though. She tweeted about Cuban's comments.
As Helin notes, the move could have big marketing potential for Cuban's team. If Griner suited up for a Summer League game, the media attention would be huge.