LOS ANGELES — Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban told ESPN on Wednesday he takes delight in the plights of the Los Angeles Lakers, who have followed a tumultuous season with more than a few negative headlines this offseason.

“The more screwed up they are, the happier I am,” Cuban told ESPN while he was in downtown LA for the Social Innovation Summit. “But I feel that way about every other franchise not in Dallas. We all go through it. Every franchise goes through cycles, and when your down cycle hits you, it’s never fun.”

Despite that sentiment, Cuban said he supports Lakers controlling owner Jeanie Buss.

“I feel bad for Jeanie, personally, because she’s a great person,” he told ESPN. “I have no sympathy for the Lakers any more than they had sympathy for us.”

Cuban also expressed disapproval of former team president Magic Johnson’s claim last month that he would be interested in buying the Lakers.

“That’s a little bit self-serving,” Cuban said. “I don’t think Magic could afford them. And that’s no disrespect to Magic. That’s a reflection of just how well Jeanie has done.”

Johnson resigned from his position — without warning anyone, including Buss, a close friend of his — on April 9, minutes before the team’s regular-season finale. In mid-May, he accused general manager Rob Pelinka, who remains in his position, of back-stabbing him.

Last week, a lengthy ESPN story described a toxic culture in the Lakers organization during Johnson’s tenure. Johnson denied mistreating any employees.

In their first season with LeBron James, the Lakers went 37-45 and missed the playoffs as many players — including James — missed time due to injury.

After Johnson’s resignation, the team also parted ways with head coach Luke Walton. During the ensuing coaching search, multiple candidates reportedly turned down the job before Frank Vogel was hired, and a small group of fans protested team management outside Staples Center.

Cuban, 60, bought the Mavericks in 2000, just as the team began a run of 12 straight playoff appearances and 15 in 16 years, including the team’s first NBA title in 2010-11. Dallas has missed the playoffs for three consecutive years.

CARTER SAYS RECORD 22^ND SEASON WILL BE HIS LAST
Vince Carter said Wednesday that the 2019-20 season will his last in the NBA, which would give the high-flying small forward the record for most seasons played in league history.

On ESPN’s “The Jump,” Carter said that his 22^nd season will be his final one, putting the end to a memorable career that saw him play in eight All-Star Games after earning the 1998-99 NBA Rookie of the Year award.

Other players with 21 seasons in the league include Robert Parish, Kevin Willis, Kevin Garnett and Dirk Nowitzki.

“I got one more in me,” the 42-year-old Carter said. “I got one more run in me.”

Carter played for the Atlanta Hawks this past season, his eighth team after starting his career with the Toronto Raptors. He has scored 17.2 points per game with 3.2 assists and 4.4 rebounds, while also playing for the New Jersey Nets, Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies and Sacramento Kings.

Set to be a free agent, Carter still must find a team interested in his services. He scored 7.4 points per game in 76 contests with the Hawks this past season while playing on a one-year, $2.4 million contract. He started nine games. — Reuters

PARIS — Four of the survivors in French Open women’s singles face the prospect of playing three days in a row to win the title after heavy rain washed out the day’s action on Wednesday.

Defending champion Simona Halep’s quarter-final against Amanda Anisimova and Australian Ashleigh Barty’s clash with Madison Keys will now be played on Thursday — the scheduled day for the women’s semi-finals.

Both women’s semi-finals will then be played on Friday with the final in its rightful place on Saturday, although more bad weather is forecast and tournament director Guy Forget said there was even the chance the women’s final could go to Sunday.

“That’s not what we want to do,” Forget said when a Sunday finish for the women’s draw was mentioned.

“Some girls might be playing three days in a row. First of all, it’s a very difficult task for one or two of them.

“Most of these girls have been waiting all of their lives to play such a big match, and to actually be playing a match of that magnitude with already two matches in their legs is a difficult task.

“If we have to move the final the following day, it’s something that could happen.”

The weather is expected to be drier on Thursday when the two remaining men’s quarterfinals featuring Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev and Dominic Thiem and Karen Khachanov are also played, but Friday’s forecast is for regular showers.

All the singles semi-finals, including Roger Federer’s clash with Rafael Nadal, are now scheduled for Friday.

SUNDAY CONCLUSION
Mr. Forget said they could possibly use three different courts to make sure they get them all played. Semi-finals are usually played on the main Philippe Chatrier court.

“We could technically play on two courts, on three courts, but at one point it’s a call we’ll have to make,” Forget told a news conference.

Forget said he hoped the tournament would be concluded on Sunday, although more rain over the coming days could see a repeat of 2012 when Nadal completed his final win over Djokovic on the third Monday of the championships.

“When we have uncertain weather, of course, it’s very hard to predict, but we have to always study the worst-case scenario, knowing that ideally we want to try to finish on Sunday.”

The Director said that ideally both women’s semi-finals, the undecided one and the one between Johanna Konta and Marketa Vondrousova, who won their quarterfinals on Tuesday, would be played at the same time on Friday.

“Ideally you would want the girls to play at the exact same time so they have the same amount of recovery,” he said.

As the men who advance to Sunday’s final are scheduled to have Saturday off, Forget added that there was more flexibility about when they play their semi-finals on Friday. However, if they too insist on an early start on Friday, then a third court will have to be used.

“If you have to play the men’s at the same time, that’s when we think about three courts. Then one of the women’s semi-final will have to go maybe on the Simonne-Mathieu court.

“Hopefully we’ll be able to conclude the women on time and we keep our fingers crossed that we might play through the raindrops, especially on Friday.”

Ticket holders were left huddled under umbrellas on Wednesday as the French Open had its first washout since May 30, 2016. They will get full refunds and will be able to attend free of charge on Court Suzanne Lenglen on Thursday to watch Keys against Barty and Thiem versus Khachanov.

It is likely to be the last-ever complete washout at the French Open with a new retractable roof expected to be in operation for the first time on Court Philippe Chatrier in 2020. — Reuters