CUBAN ON KEVIN GARNETT

“We went after KG hard. But – and maybe I shouldn’t say this – dealing with Minnesota was very tough. They didn’t want to trade him but they knew they had to. I guess we’ve been on the other side of that, with guys we had to trade that we didn’t want to trade. ...

“We thought we were very close on Draft Day. We were waiting for the phone to ring, we were waiting on a call from Minnesota. It was that close. But it never turned out that way. Our goal was to try to make a deal that wouldn’t hurt our roster as it was. You don’t want to go out there with Dirk and KG and three guys named Moe. You’ve got to have a team. We tried, but in the end, we didn’t offer as good a deal as Boston.

“We didn’t want to give too much. We have a team that, other than Dirk, can withstand injuries and hold on until we get to the playoffs. What Avery and Donnie have built here is something that’s all about the team concept. Think about this: With Dirk, Josh, JET and Devin, and either ‘Gana or Dampier at center, we’ve got a starting five that has four of the five guys at All-Star or near-All-Star level. That’s a good team. We’re right to be hesitant to break it up.’’

CUBAN ON THE CUBS

“(If he succeeds in buying the Chicago Cubs) I’d be drinking myself to death – along with eating all those hotdogs. A steady diet of hotdogs and beer. The process is this: I applied. That’s all. I applied for it, and they haven’t gotten back to me. You have to apply first, and then they check to make sure my finances are in order and make sure I have enough money in the bank. They have to make sure I can afford it. They’ve got to do that. So we’ll see if I even get approved!’’

CUBAN ON THE ROUND 1 LOSS

 “There’s only one team that ends without a loss, so the Golden State thing hurt. But it didn’t hurt as much as losing in the Finals the year before. This time, we just ran into a hot team, a buzzsaw. … What’s done is done. At no time do you ever go into a playoff game and think, ‘We’re gonna lose.’ But when you do, you gotta get over it. Let’s just not be the Buffalo Bills of basketball, right? But it wasn’t our year. Hopefully we’re in for a better year.’’

Mark Cuban reportedly being on “Dancing With The Stars’’? What could. … um. … make for a better year than that?!