Mark Cuban defends Jose Calderon signing

The Dallas Mavericks were forced to use their back up plans last season and this season after missing out on the big free agents of the summer. That has led the Dallas Mavericks to sign point guard Jose Calderon and Monta Ellis. Both guards have been known more for their offensive production and less for their defensive abilities.

That makes them essentially defensive liabilities as the Mavericks regress to a time when they relied simply on outscoring opponents in shoot outs.

“Now, we’ve added someone who can run a pick and roll with (Nowitzki) and knows how to run it that knows how to use a screen. I’ll tell you something else, I was shocked when people thought we signed a bad deal with Jose Calderon because hey, the guy shot 50 percent from three,” Cuban said on ESPN Radio in Dallas, but was transcribed by Dallas Morning News. The market for guys who can catch and shoot threes and do nothing else was higher than what we paid for Jose. He knows how to play point guard. He knows how to get Dirk the ball. He knows the game. Never turns it over. Literally, I was like what are people thinking. He may not be the best defender, but it’s not like he was replacing a great defender. I was really surprised by the response to Jose. I think he’s going to make us a much better team.”

And it’s not just Dirk that Calderon can help out.

“Shawn Marion is going to love playing with Calderon because Shawn knows how to use space better than anybody in the game, and we didn’t have a guy who can get him the ball. Dirk and Vince (Carter) were the two best passers so I think there is just so many things to get excited about. But the No. 1 thing is Dirk has a chance to prepare all summer.”