Mark Cuban says NBA could benefit from deeper 3-point arc

DALLAS -- Mark Cuban has a suggestion to reintroduce the midrange shot to the NBA game: Move back the 3-point arc.

"It's getting too close," the Dallas Mavericks owner said Friday night of the 3-point arc, which is 23 feet, 9 inches at the crest and 22 feet in the corners, where there is no room to move it back. "Guys are shooting a foot behind it anyways. ... That's something we should look at. It's worth looking at.

"I don't think the number of shots would decline, but I think it would reward skill and open up the court some more. So guys would still take [3-point] shots if it's seven inches back or whatever, but at the same time, it opens up the court for more drives, more midrange game."

The midrange jumper has become an endangered species of sorts, while NBA players are firing 3-pointers at record rates. The single-season record for 3s is 55,137; according to ESPN Stats & Information, teams are on pace to hit 58,477 this season.

Cuban thinks moving back the 3-point arc is an idea the NBA should consider, not to discourage the deep ball, but to improve the spacing of the game.

"I think it'd open it up more so guys with different skill sets could play," Cuban said. "It would open up play for more drives. Guys with midrange games would be rewarded and that would stay in the game. There would be more diversity of offensive action in the game.

"You'd see a little bit of decline in the 3. I'm not saying it's a bad thing that we shoot so many 3s, but it's worth it in the D-League to see what happens [with a deeper 3-point line]."

Cuban quickly dismissed a question about whether the NBA would benefit from adding a 4-point line, perhaps 30 feet from the basket.

"No, because then guys would really use it," Cuban said.

His thought is that the basketball players, from youth leagues to the NBA, have become too reliant on long-range shooting.

"Part of the consideration is not just how our game works, but how kids learn how to play," Cuban said. "It's turned into nobody has a midrange game coming out anymore. Unless you shoot a 3, you can't shoot anymore pretty much."