With the Dallas Mavericks starting the 16-17 season slowly, there have been suggestions that the team should begin the rebuilding process with a high draft pick in 2017. 

"Haters gonna hate. We think that you always compete," Cuban said on Sunday night. "If you're competing when the league is better like it is this year, if you don't do well, you'll be in a position to get a good pick. Which, remember, even if you have the worst record in the NBA, there's a 75 percent chance you're not going to get the top pick."

Cuban refuses to acknowledge this is a rebuilding season for the Mavericks as they're only a few games out of the eighth seed despite being 10 games under .500.

"There are so many teams that became four years away from four years away because guys just learned how to lose," Cuban said. "They stopped caring about any individual game and just got used to it, and you don't want guys developing those bad habits. We have so many young guys on this team, we want the games to mean something. Not to be, 'OK, who are we going to pull in the fourth quarter so we can lose this game?' That's not how teams develop good habits.

"The only way you overcome that is to have the ultimate superstar carry you through, and it's tough to draft the ultimate superstar. I don't see any Shaqs or LeBrons or Tim Duncans in this draft, so I don't think that's the right way to do it. You just ignore the haters, let them bitch, and go about your business."

Cuban didn't rule out making a trade for the future but isn't at that point yet.

"We'll play it by ear," Cuban said. "The one thing you don't do is panic. The one thing you don't do is make any rushed judgments. You see what you have -- right? -- and that's exactly what we'll do, and we'll make determinations from there. If we just can't get healthy, that will tell us one thing. If we can and we're just not any good, that will tell us another thing. If we can and we start rolling along and we think we can get a lot better, then that tells what we do there. You just don't know. The crazy thing you don't do is panic."

Cuban isn't worried about the Mavericks' draft position.

"This is not a race-to-the-bottom year," Cuban said. "So we get every chance to be as good as we can be. The team that has the worst record has a 75 percent chance that they won't get the No. 1 pick. That's not good odds. You'll get a top-three pick ... but there's no good reason to tank unless you think that there's three difference-makers. Not just All-Stars, but difference-makers.

"We'll see what happens across the course of the season to see if anybody emerges like that, but I'm not panicking, not rushing to judgment, not pulling the plug -- pick a euphemism."

Dirk Nowitzki is likely to return from his sore right Achilles' tendon on Wednesday.

"Feeling better," said Rick Carlisle. "I think there's a good chance he'll play tonight."

Nowitzki has played in only three games so far this season and hasn't played since Nov. 4th.

The Mavericks have a 2-11 record.

Mark Cuban believes the NBA is heading in the right direction with their new television deal and the increased popularity of the sport but that more work can be done. 

“Generally speaking, I think we have some challenges,” Cuban said last week. “We don’t have NFL TV ratings, but we have a lot of room to improve. The fans love the game. The people participate. They play fantasy sports. They watch the games. Attendance is good.

“I think we’re in a good spot. People look up to NBA players and that’s always a good thing.”

Cuban also talked about how the NBA has the advantage of recognizable superstars.

“We’re unique among all the big four sports that our players are brands, they are recognizable because of fantasy sports and the love of the game,” he said. “Because of video games, they know the 15 guys on a lot of rosters. I think we’re in a great spot, but we have to continue to be humble. I think that’s going to be the key for us.

“We can’t think because we signed a big TV deal that everything is great. We’ve got to keep on grinding, keep on working hard and keep on trying to improve things because there’s a lot of room for improvement.”

The Dallas Mavericks' front office was unanimous that a long-term commitment to Chandler Parsons would be a poor business decision due to his knee problems.

There also were locker room concerns with Parsons, though they were described as "forgivable, fixable things." The primary concern was Parsons' close relationship with Mark Cuban and that he possessed so much power in personnel matters.

Parsons and Cuban quickly became close after he signed a three-year, $46 million offer sheet. Parsons and Cuban would go out together occasionally both during the season and in the offseason.

"We're boys. We're friends," Parsons tells ESPN. "Yeah, he was the owner of the team, but I didn't look at him any differently [than other friends]. We did stuff. We enjoyed similar activities off the court. We were friends hanging out."

Parsons became a go-to resource on personnel matters, proposing one move after another, some of which became reality. Parsons pitched Cuban on letting go of Monta Ellis, who clashed with Parsons and go all-in on recruiting DeAndre Jordan.

Parsons contends Cuban told him consistently after the 16-17 regular season that they would be able to agree upon a long-term deal.

"Throughout the whole process going into free agency, I always thought Dallas was going to be the place," Parsons said. "I thought we had a mutual understanding that I was going to be there for the whole time and I was going to retire a Mav. Obviously, the second surgery gave him a little doubt, and I believe some people got in his head about it."

Cuban simply shook his head when asked about that account.

Parsons and Cuban continued to discuss personnel moves, such as pursuing Hassan Whiteside and Harrison Barnes. Cuban later pushed hard for Parsons to opt in for the final season of his contract, which would have paid $6 million less than his max. Parsons could then sign a five-year deal with the cap even higher in the 2017 offseason, but that would have required him staying healthy for a whole season.

Parsons told ESPN he would have accepted a four-year deal for "a lot less" than the max of $98 million the Mavs could have given him.

J.J. Barea will miss approximately six weeks with a left leg injury.

Barea spoke with El Nuevo Día and revealed he suffered a tear in a muscle connecting his left calf to his Achilles tendon.

"Thank God there is no damage to the Achilles tendon and no surgery is required. I have a tear in the muscle between my calf and the tendon. I will have to use a walking boot for two weeks and won't partake in any physical activity for the next month. I estimate that I will be out for about a month and a half. It could have been worse," Barea said, after suffering the noncontact injury while dribbling.

Barea is averaging 16.3 points, 5.4 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game. He's also averaging a career-high 33.1 minutes.

The Dallas Mavericks have waived Quincy Acy in order to sign Jonathan Gibson.

Dallas was down to only Seth Curry as a healthy point guard on their roster.

Acy is recovering from an injury of his own and could be re-signed at a later date if he clears waivers.

The Milwaukee Bucks, Memphis Grizzlies and Dallas Mavericks have moved away from Trump hotels in New York City and Chicago, which bear Donald Trump's name through a licensing agreement.

Another Eastern Conference team contracted to stay at the Trump SoHo in New York this season has likewise already decided to switch to a different property in Manhattan when its current contract expires at season's end and that the Trump association is among the factors for the switch.

Seven other NBA teams are still currently scheduled to stay at Trump-branded properties this season.

Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry and Mavericks owner Mark Cuban are both high-profile supporters of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

The Trump SoHo has emerged in recent years as an increasingly popular property throughout the league because more teams are coming to New York for two-game trips since the Nets moved from New Jersey to Brooklyn starting with the 2012-13 season.

The Dallas Mavericks have assigned rookie center A.J. Hammons to the Texas Legends of the NBA Development League.

Hammons has appeared in three games for Dallas this season. In the Mavericks’ most recent game at Golden State on Nov. 9, Hammons produced nine points (3-5 FGs, 1-1 3FGs, 2-2 FTs) and three rebounds in six minutes of action.

A native of Gary, Ind., Hammons played four seasons with the Purdue Boilermakers and earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, First Team All-Big Ten and honorable mention All-America as a senior. In his final season, he averaged 15.0 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 1.1 assists while shooting .592 from the floor.

Dirk Nowitzki has begun to resume on-court work as he recovers from a strained right Achilles.

Nowitzki will need to get through a full-speed practice or two this weekend with no setbacks before he's cleared to play.

"It's definitely better, but I really haven't done much yet," Nowitzki said. "Today was good, but we didn't go anything close to full speed. Just started moving on the court a bit.

"We don't want to rush anything and go back to where we were last week. So if I feel anything this weekend, they're going to ease off again. Obviously I want to play in the Garden on Monday [against the Knicks] and I want to play in Boston [on Wednesday] -- two of my favorite road spots. But I just don't know at this point if it's going to happen."

Andrew Bogut spoke about his exit from the Golden State Warriors ahead of his first return to Oracle Arena as a member of the Dallas Mavericks.

“I mean there’s no doubt it’s disappointing to leave one of the best teams – record-wise, those last two years … you leave a team like that and it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. It was bitter in a way. I wasn’t mad at anybody about it. I understood it completely. I’m not stupid.

“But yeah, you’re disappointed leaving guys who you battled for a championship with, and guys where everyone understood their role and it was just fun to play and be a part of that team, because every day you came into work and everyone kind of knew their role and accepted it. It was just cool to be part of that every day. It was just automatic. You didn’t have to do any extra (expletive). That was probably the (most fun) part of it, was it was just so automatic for two years.”

Bogut was asked if he's watched the Warriors much so far this season.

“I haven’t seen a lot of games. I’ve seen two halves. I saw the San Antonio game, and I saw the Lakers game (both losses). Moving and stuff (from the Bay Area to Dallas), and getting League Pass set up, doesn’t help. It’s an adjustment for them. Obviously (Warriors forward) Draymond (Green), we had a really good sync defensively where when he got beat I was there. When I got beat, he was there, and it was automatic. We didn’t have to talk about it. It was just reads. We knew how to play, and Steph (Curry) and Klay (Thompson) did a good job of funneling guys to me and Draymond. Obviously they have to adjust to that when they go small now.

“I think OKC exposed us a little bit last season (in the seven-game conference finals) when we went small and they went big. They kind of exposed it. They went the anti-death lineup, which was staying true to who they were and should have beaten us hypothetically, so I think they’ll figure it out. I think it’s a long season. The season is too long. They’ll get in a groove here pretty soon, I’m pretty sure. Hopefully it’s not (on Wednesday night).”