If you’re looking for one of the biggest Russell Westbrook detractors, look no further than Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.

For a while now, Cuban has found reasons to nitpick one of the NBA’s brightest stars. This continued Sunday when the Dallas owner talked about the NBA MVP race.

Cuban started by conspicuously leaving out the OKC superstar.

Cuban said Sunday that the MVP battle is a “toss-up” between Houston’s James Harden and Cleveland’s LeBron James, with San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard also deserving of mention in the conversation. Where is Westbrook in the mix?

“He’s not,” Cuban said while going through his pregame exercise routine.

These comments come while Westbrook is on a historic tear, leading the NBA with 31.7 points per game and threatening to become the first player since Oscar Robertson to average a triple-double.

Cuban acknowledges that Westbrook is “an amazing athlete” who is the “most explosive” player in the league and has the “best motor.”

However, the Thunder (35-27) are on pace to fall short of 50 wins, which Cuban considers the benchmark for a player to be considered a superstar, much less an MVP candidate.

“The criteria hasn’t changed,” Cuban said. With a wry smile, he added: “And if I changed my mind, it would ruin all the fun for you guys.”

Is this sort of stupidity fun? I guess it is in Cuban’s mind. He’s just trolling at this point, and he looks like a complete moron to me.

As we mentioned, this isn’t the first time Cuban has gone after Westbrook. He said last year that Westbrook wasn’t a superstar, prompting Russ’ then-teammate, Kevin Durant to call Cuban an “idiot”. I have a feeling any chance of the Mavericks getting Durant were just about toast at that point.

With Dallas playing badly this season, this is pretty much the only way you’ll hear from Cuban. So, as the season winds down, let the hot takes begin.

[ESPN]

About Ryan Williamson

Ryan is a recent graduate of the University of Missouri and has recently returned to his Minnesota roots. He previously has worked for the Columbia Missourian, KFAN radio in Minneapolis and BringMeTheNews.com. Feel free to email me at rwilliamson29 AT Gmail dot com.