Cleveland Cavalier's Kevin Love supports Mark Cuban 2020 presidential bid: 'I'm for it'
Billionaire Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has been mulling a 2020 presidential bid for months. If he does jump into the race, he can count on support from an NBA star in the crucial swing state of Ohio.
“I love Mark Cuban,” says Kevin Love, power forward for the Cleveland Cavaliers. “I’m for it.”
Love lauded Cuban’s attention to detail and care for Mavericks players, traits he said would serve the outspoken entrepreneur in the White House.
“He sits right by their bench. He travels with them to games,” Love says. “He makes sure they have whatever they need in order for not only longevity purposes but for that day. Some of that stuff actually does transcend into everyday life and the American people.”
Cuban, an entrepreneur and host of the television show “Shark Tank,” told Yahoo Finance Editor-in-chief Andy Serwer last month that, as it stood then, President Donald Trump could defeat any Democrat in the field.
“There’s now and then there’s November of 2020,” Cuban said. “If the election were held today, I think Trump would win. I don’t think that there’s somebody that has the momentum or just the value of the incumbency that Trump has.”
A head-to-head Quinnipiac poll released earlier this month found 53% of voters said they would support former vice president and Democratic candidate Joe Biden while 40% said they would support Trump. The results, which came from a survey of 1,214 voters nationwide, also found gave the edge to Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) in matchups with Trump.
Cuban, who said he would run as an independent, supported Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential race, saying ahead of the election that Trump had gone “crazy.” Despite his public criticism of Trump, Cuban said the two of them “get along.”
“Like any president, I agree with some things and disagree with other things,” he said. “It's not personal.”
‘He has done a really great job allowing players to be themselves’
Known for sitting courtside during games and publicly criticizing referees afterward, Cuban backs his players to an impressive degree, Love said.
“He has done a really great job of allowing players to be themselves while also being almost, like, a player's owner. We always talk about a player's coach, but he's so heavily involved.”
Love made the comments to Serwer in a conversation that aired on Yahoo Finance in an episode of “Influencers with Andy Serwer,” a weekly interview series with leaders in business, politics, and entertainment.
An 11-year NBA veteran, Love has played in five all-star games and three NBA Finals. He won a championship alongside James in 2016. Off the court, Love has fought for mental health awareness, revealing his own struggle with anxiety and launching a foundation to tackle the issue.
The affection between Love and Cuban appears to have its limits. Asked later in the interview who he looks up to as a role model, Love did not mention Cuban.
He pointed to his agent, Jeff Schwartz, as well as former teammate and Phoenix Suns General Manager James Jones.
Andy Serwer is editor-in-chief of Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter: @serwer.
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