Mark Cuban says he will not “make the same mistake” he did when he allowed the breakup of Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki in Dallas.

The Mavs’ team owner vows to keep Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis together for a very long time.

Powerful quote from Mavs owner Mark Cuban that will be part of Tuesday's @nytimes NBA newsletter: "It was my mistake not to keep Dirk (Nowitzki) and Steve (Nash) together longer," Cuban tells @NYTSports. "I won't make the same mistake with Luka (@luka7doncic) and KP (@kporzee)." — Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 5, 2019

Porzingis, acquired via trade with the New York Knicks, will not play this season as he recovers from a torn ACL.

Per The NY Times:

Porzingis has the option to play next season for a mere $4.5 million and become an unrestricted free agent in July 2020, but Dallas is already expressing confidence that it can get Porzingis’s signature on a five-year, $158 million contract this summer. Porzingis has strong pre-existing relationships with the 40-year-old Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavericks’ rising Slovenian star Luka Doncic. And neither Mavericks Coach Rick Carlisle, nor Cuban, has been bashful about comparing a potential Doncic/Porzingis partnership to the Nowitzki/Steve Nash duo that lasted for only six seasons. Nash was allowed to sign with Phoenix in July 2004, after which both Nowitzki and Nash became league most valuable players. “It was my mistake to not keep Dirk and Steve together longer,” Cuban told me Monday night. “I won’t make the same mistake with Luka and KP.”

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Mark Cuban Wants Kristaps Porzingis and Luka Doncic ‘Together for the Next 20 Years’

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