Mark Cuban says Mavericks won’t return until they can get White House-level testing for coronavirus

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said he won’t reopen his team’s practice facility until they can test for the coronavirus at the same frequency as the White House. 

In an interview with The Athletic, Cuban said it “makes sense” to copy how the White House goes about testing.

“The way the White House protects the president and vice president is the way that I want to protect our players and employees, you know?” Cuban said. “We’ll just try to just copy what they do as a means of knowing when the time is right. As of now, for all we know, for all we’ve been informed, anyways, they’re testing everybody. And they test their top people on a daily basis.”

ESPN reported late Tuesday that the NBA gained positive momentum about relaunching its season after a board of governors call with Commissioner Adam Silver. The NBA halted its season abruptly in March after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for COViD-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.

Cuban has said he wants the season to return, but only if proper safety protocols are enacted.

He told The Athletic he was optimistic about having mass testing available within the next month or two.

“I just trust American exceptionalism, entrepreneurialism spirit and capitalism,” Cuban said. “You know, we’ll figure out a way because we have to.”