Will Brittney Griner Become a Botched NBA Experiment?

Culture

Bloviating billionaire and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has made headlines for stating that he would draft Baylor Universities women’s basketball player Brittney Griner.

Via ESPN:

“If she is the best on the board, I will take her,” Cuban told ESPN’s Tim McMahon Tuesday night. “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, and it’s not like the likelihood of any late-50s draft pick has a good chance of making it.”

Men and women are different. No dung, you must be thinking to yourself, but this is the exact reason why we should ignore what Cuban spewed out of his gaping trap and profess that Griner doesn’t even deserve a chance to earn a spot on a NBA roster.

I would like to begin by declaring that Brittney Griner is a phenomenal player that will surely excel at the next level, and it would not surprise me if she became a dominant player at that. Combined career stats, accolades, and tangibles (6’8 with a 7’4 wingspan) she’s intimidating for any WNBA player or average male to face. Her 14 collegiate dunks are 14 more than I’ve completed in my entire lifetime, but I would like to reveal that I am not a NBA prospect.

The percentage of being drafted is low enough (0.3%), and while longevity is not welcomed either, using a PR stunt could just create another dilatory for any prospect or also-ran attempting to secure a contract. Cuban seems to be looking for a media circus since his team isn’t commanding their division, nor the headlines for that matter.

There’s not a possibility Cuban believes Griner is a dynamic player like Deshaun Thomas. He couldn’t truly deem Griner to possess the range of James Southerland; both happened to be second round prospects in the 2013 draft. Even the current face of the franchise Dirk Nowitzki insinuates that she would fail.

Via the Dallas Morning News:

“You’re kind of caught between a 3 and a 4, it’s tough,” Nowitzki said regarding the fact that the 6-8 Baylor superstar would have to play either small forward or power forward. “You’ve got to be fast and athletic at that spot. You’ve got to be able to shoot. You’ve got to be able to go by people, guard people on the other end, chase people off of screen-and-rolls and post up. It’s tough, it’s tough.”

Men and women have equal rights, but there is a simple reason why we compete in different sports confederations. Men have a mechanical advantage with attributes such as bone density, tendons, and testosterone production.

If Cuban is serious with his opinion on the option of drafting or analyzing Griner, I hope she doesn’t take the bait. I would prefer seeing her become the greatest athlete in her sport instead of a botched experiment. He would be tarnishing and insulting the NBA, and more notably, Brittney Griner.