NBA rumors: Tatum recruited Lillard, Ingram benching explained, Cuban says the quiet part loud

NBA Rumors: Mark Cuban admits to trading Mavs who 'smoke too much'

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban recently appeared on Patrick Beverley's podcast and made comments that are sure to cause a stir. The TV-famous entrepreneur touted the importance of team culture and admitted to trading players who "smoke too much" as an example of making on-court sacrifices for the betterment of the collective.

Cuban went on to make the distinction between smoking and smoking too much, indicating that he only trades players who go overboard and risk dragging other members of the team down with them.

While Cuban may be the only owner bold enough to say it publicly, he's definitely not alone in his approach here. The opposite is oftentimes true too — NBA teams will overlook grave misdeeds from great players — but if a simple rotation player is disrupting the peace, so to speak, the majority of NBA owners would probably take the same steps as Cuban.

One has to imagine Cuban will draw a fair amount of criticism in the days to come. The NBA recently abandoned its drug-testing policy on marijuana and states around the U.S. have legalized it. To trade players because they smoke "too much" is a slippery slope with a lot of grey area. Cuban's commitment to team culture is admirable, but it's fair to wonder how strong his grasp is on what actually improves the locker room environment and the relationships between players.