Mark Cuban Hurts The Mavs, Says Josh Howard

Godfather of basketblogging Henry Abbott has an in-depth Q&A with Dallas' Josh Howard at ESPN's True Hoop. The piece touches on Howard's famous political thoughts, his relief-filled Maury Povich moment, and the best Avery Johnson impersonations.

But the most jawdropping statement is this:

Abbott: What about Mark Cuban's antics on the sidelines? Dirk Nowitzki has suggested it might not be good for the team. You think it hurts the team?

Howard: Yeah. Put yourself in the referee's shoes. He's there constantly yelling. The coach is yelling. The crowd is yelling. Sometimes players are yelling. That's a lot. Plus he sends those video tapes in to the league. I understand he wants what's best for our team. I have no problem with it. But at the end of the day, it does hurt our team.

Nowitzki's previous comments got a lot of media traction this summer. But Dirk's thrust was more "Dude should calm down" rather than Howard's "Dude is hurting our performance." Cuban is obviously not concerned with public perception, but his team's performance is at the top of his priority list.

Your two top players have called you out for constantly attacking the refs from the sidelines. At what point do you decide to shut up?