The NBA figured out how to cram a 66-game schedule into 123 days, add two games to its normal three-game Christmas Day slate — raking in the extra sponsorship revenue, too — and release an All-Star ballot a mere 10 days after the season started.
But it overlooked scheduling a game in Washington for the NBA-champion Dallas Mavericks, along with a celebratory visit to the White House. Because of the shortened schedule, not every team will visit every NBA city.
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“How can you be that stupid?” Mavericks owner Mark Cuban told ESPNDallas.com. “All you’ve got to do is when you’re putting in the scheduling software, say Dallas at Washington, yes.”
While Cuban said he took matters into his own hands, the NBA blamed an inability to guarantee President Obama’s availability and said it has helped the Mavericks schedule a D.C. stop on Jan. 9 before a two-game trip to Detroit and Boston. At least it didn’t say it was for “basketball reasons.”
The Wizards play at Dallas on March 13.
