Mark Cuban has met Rasheed Wallace twice, stopping briefly to chat with the Trail Blazers forward last spring when the Mavericks played a seven-game first-round series against Portland.
``I was asking him about his music career more than anything else,'' said Cuban, whose team has been mentioned in trade rumors _ inaccurate ones, according to the owner _ involving the volatile Portland forward. ``The guys who I talk to that know him say that off the court he's a sweetheart, he just got into legal trouble.''
Portland general manager John Nash said earlier this week that a deal involving Wallace was ``likely'' before the Feb. 20 trading deadline _ a quote that Cuban called Nash's way of ``trolling for trades.''
New York Knicks president Isiah Thomas said he would be interested in acquiring Wallace, and the Philadelphia 76ers are known to have interest in bringing the Philly native back to his hometown.
Wallace missed Portland's last four games, and his status for Saturday night's matchup with Cuban's Mavericks was questionable.
His role diminished with the emergence of Zach Randolph, Wallace is averaging 16.8 points and 6.6 rebounds _ his lowest numbers in four years. Wallace's contract expires after this season, and the Trail Blazers could elect to keep him for the rest of the season, let him leave as an unrestricted free agent and save $17 million in payroll.
A more likely scenario would be for the Trail Blazers to trade Wallace for a package of players, most of whom would have expiring contracts.
``I don't have a problem with Rasheed, it just depends on the circumstances,'' Cuban said. ``We're not looking to trade unless something comes along that you can't say no to, like how we got (Antoine) Walker, but you don't anticipate that happening.''
Cuban says he has done his homework on Wallace, reading articles that have chronicled Wallace's behavioral issues _ but taking them with a grain of salt.
Cuban read similar stories about Nick Van Exel, Danny Fortson, Christian Laettner and Tim Hardaway before acquiring them. Once he got to know them, each player was a better person than the way they had been described, Cuban said.
``I don't prejudge. If the only perception of somebody is what I read in the media, it's not going to be the basis for anything I do.''
Cuban is even willing to excuse Wallace' public comments earlier this season in which he charged that the league's white establishment is exploiting young black athletes to enrich itself _ comments commissioner David Stern termed ``ignorant and offensive to all players.''
To Cuban, the brouhaha was merely ``a communication issue.''
``I gave him credit for being willing to speak his mind, and I also disagreed with 99 percent of what he said. To me when someone's wrong about something, that just opens the door for discussion.
``Guys grow up, guys change, a change of scenery changes things, but it's all hypothetical,'' Cuban said. ``We haven't been shopping anybody and we haven't been out searching for anything.''
The Mavericks entered the weekend with a record of 22-16, tied with Houston for third-place in the Midwest Division. After going 27-14 on the road a year ago, the Mavericks are just 5-13 this season. Amid speculation that he could make a coaching change, Cuban told coach Don Nelson on Wednesday that his job is safe.
``It's just about us trying to turn the corner. We all hoped things would click better,'' Cuban said. ``It's not a talent issue, it's just a getting better issue.''
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BAD DAY:@ If losing his job wasn't bad enough, former Knicks assistant coach Brendan Malone was involved in a car crash after being fired by Isiah Thomas.
Malone's wife, Maureen, was driving home Wednesday from New York when she slowed down behind a car stopped in a right-hand exit lane. Another car slammed into Malone's vehicle.
``When he hit us, the explosion was deafening. I thought my grandson might have been killed, but when I heard him crying I knew he was all right,'' Malone said.
Malone's wife hit her head against the steering wheel, and his daughter, Kelley, was left with a stiff neck and shoulder. Malone's vehicle sustained significant damage, and the car that hit it was ``accordioned,'' Malone said.
Malone stood outside in frigid temperatures for an hour until police drove them to a car service depot. He finally arrived home four hours after being fired.
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REMINISCING:@ Cleveland coach Paul Silas doubts that Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson would have been as successful as Cavs' rookie LeBron James if they had turned pro at age 18.
The reason: They wouldn't have faced such watered-down competition.
``I think the league was much tougher,'' Silas said. ``When I came into the league, there were nine teams, and I'm talking 1964. That was four years earlier. There were eight teams. Those guys would have struggled a lot more than LeBron.''
Living up to his hype, James is averaging 20.2 points, 6.3 assists and 5.8 rebounds. He has averaged 23.4 points since becoming the focal point of the offense following Cleveland's trade of Ricky Davis to Boston.
``No way. No way,'' Silas said when asked whether he'd have been successful as a teen in the pros. ``I couldn't have handled it. I came in at 20 and it was difficult for me.''
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