Billionaire and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban says he's willing to draft college basketball superstar Brittney Griner to the National Basketball Association (NBA).
While speaking with ESPN, Cuban said he might draft Griner for his Dallas Mavericks if given the chance.
"If she is the best on the board, I will take her," he told ESPN before the Mavericks played the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night. "I've thought about it. I've thought about it already. Would I do it? Right now, I'd lean toward yes, just to see if she can do it. You never know unless you give somebody a chance, and it's not like the likelihood of any late-50s draft pick has a good chance of making it."
If he doesn't get to select her during the draft, he will offer her a shot to try out for Dallas' summer team. "She'd still have to make the team. I'm not going to carry her just to carry her. I don't think, anyways. But I certainly wouldn't be opposed to giving her the opportunity," he said. Adding, "That'd sell out a few games."
The offer got the attention of the 6-foot-8-inch All-American.
Yahoo! Sports reporter Kelly Dwyer notes that there is at least one major roadblock: Griner is likely to be drafted by the Phoenix Mercury, which has first pick in the WNBA draft on April 15.
Dwyer also took issue with Cuban's proposition.
"Brittney Griner has the potential to be a franchise-leading, league-dominating superstar in the WNBA," he writes. "She’s not a gimmick to be gawked at and over-scrutinized by the collection of NBA executives and bored NBA freaks who watch the Summer League every year."
Griner's star is no doubt bright. The 22-year-old led Baylor's Lady Bears secure a 42-game winning streak in November. She has scored 3,203 points and blocked 736 shots.
If Griner does try out for the NBA, she wouldn't be the first female to do so. Ann Meyers was the first female to sign a free-agent contract with an NBA team when she signed with the Indiana Pacers in 1979, though she did not make the team and was released.