Baylor women's basketball star Brittney Griner had her senior season end Sunday as the top-seeded Bears were bounced from the NCAA tournament by Louisville.
But don't think for a second that an early exit will affect her WNBA draft stock. Heck, if Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is telling the truth, it didn't hurt her NBA draft stock.
Before the Mavericks played Tuesday against the Lakers in Los Angeles, Cuban told media members that he would consider drafting the 6-8 post player in the second round of June's NBA Draft.
"If she's the best on the board, we'll take her," Cuban said, according to The Dallas Morning News. "If we have the 60th pick and she's on the board, we still might take her.
"I've thought about it already. Would I do it? And right now, I'd lean toward yes, just to see if she can do it."
Griner, a three-time AP All-American, is arguably the most dominant women's basketball player of the last decade but it seems like a Cuban publicity stunt to deliver such a comment.
Yes, Griner averaged 23.8 points, 9.4 rebounds and 4.1 blocks and she will likely win her second Naismith College Player of the Year trophy. But while her skill, size and athleticism can dominate the women's game, the best male post players are an entirely different challenge.
"You never know until you give someone a chance," Cuban told reporters. "And it's not like the likelihood of any late-50s draft pick has a good chance of making it. If we had tryouts, I would have no problem inviting her to work out and see how she did. No problem whatsoever."
Second-round draft picks aren't guaranteed contracts in the NBA but it's still unlikely Cuban would use a pick unless he really thought that player could help the Mavericks win games. In other words, the Mavericks are probably not drafting Griner.
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