Let me give you some context for my man-crush on Mark Cuban:
1. I’ve lived in Dallas since 1989, have gone to Mavs games every season, and have watched dozens of games every year — even when it was hard to stomach.
2. From 1989-1990 to 1999-2000, the Mavs compiled a 286-584 record. That’s a 32.9 winning percentage.
3. Only a true NBA fan can understand the pain of having to cheer for a starting center named Darren Morningstar.
Mark Cuban bought the team in early 2000, and beginning with his first full season as owner, the team has made the playoffs every year since.
You could argue that Mark was fortunate in that pieces like Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash and Michael Finley were already in place. Mark kept coach Don Nelson, too — causing many people to think of Mark as simply a glorified fan with an open checkbook and a big mouth.
He’s been much, much more than that.
In fact, here are Five Reasons Mavs Fans Owe It All to Cubes:
1. He didn’t change things just to change them. He trusted the basketball knowledge of old-timers like Nelson, who saw something special in the Big Three of Dirk, Finley and Nash.
2. He knew that a different team had to be built around this talented core, and opened the checkbook to make that happen — something the previous ownership would have never done.
3. He approved trades that other owners would have vetoed — because they made no sense from a short-term economic standpoint. Who else wanted the bloated contract of Juwan Howard, for example? No one.
But let’s look how this single transaction for an overrated power forward helped build a championship-caliber team (note that I’ve left out some of the spare-parts players in the following trades):
The Mavs acquired Juwan Howard from the Washington Wizards for virtually nothing in 2000-2001.
The next year, the Mavs were able to trade Howard to Denver for Raef LaFrentz and Nick Van Exel.
In 2003-2004, the Mavs traded Van Exel to Golden State for Antawn Jamison and LaFrentz to Boston for Antoine Walker.
In 2004-2005, the Mavs traded Walker for Jason Terry and Jamison for Jerry Stackhouse and the draft rights to Devin Harris.
Three guys in the Mavs’ current eight-man rotation — Jet, Stack and Devin — were produced from nothing but the willingness of an owner to take chances.
4. Unlike some owners, after Cuban agreed to spend big bucks on players like Walker and Jamison in 2003-2004, he didn’t insist on giving them more playing time at the expense of two unheralded rookies who came out of nowhere that year: Josh Howard and Marquis Daniels.
In many cities, Howard and Daniels would’ve been consigned to the pine and ultimately traded without being given a chance. That’s exactly why Jermaine O’Neal is in Indiana now instead of Portland.
5. After the 2002-2003 team made the conference finals with a run-and-gun style but failed to win it all, Cuban began having philosophical differences with Don Nelson. He began to believe that the only way the Mavs could win was to be able to play at different tempos, and to play better defense. That meant Nelson and Nash — a coach and player who are only at their best in an uptempo style — had to go.
Shooing Nash out the door may be Cuban’s bravest move of all, because he went against his instincts — to give his stakeholders (fans, customers, investors, etc.) what they want — for the sake of larger, longer-term goals. If only every CEO in America followed this example.
Once Cuban decided to change his game philosophy, he was fortunate to find Avery Johnson, the perfect coach to make it reality. He was also fortunate to have a player like Dirk, who has worked so hard on his game every year since coming into the league in 1998. Watching Dirk’s development on the court from season to season has been the highlight in all my years as a sports fan.
Thanks, Mark, for making it happen.
Technorati tags: Mark Cuban
Tags: dallas, mavericks, nba, sports
Five Reasons We Owe It All to Cubes
Let me give you some context for my man-crush on Mark Cuban:
1. I’ve lived in Dallas since 1989, have gone to Mavs games every season, and have watched dozens of games every year — even when it was hard to stomach.
2. From 1989-1990 to 1999-2000, the Mavs compiled a 286-584 record. That’s a 32.9 winning percentage.
3. Only a true NBA fan can understand the pain of having to cheer for a starting center named Darren Morningstar.
Mark Cuban bought the team in early 2000, and beginning with his first full season as owner, the team has made the playoffs every year since.
You could argue that Mark was fortunate in that pieces like Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash and Michael Finley were already in place. Mark kept coach Don Nelson, too — causing many people to think of Mark as simply a glorified fan with an open checkbook and a big mouth.
He’s been much, much more than that.
In fact, here are Five Reasons Mavs Fans Owe It All to Cubes:
1. He didn’t change things just to change them. He trusted the basketball knowledge of old-timers like Nelson, who saw something special in the Big Three of Dirk, Finley and Nash.
2. He knew that a different team had to be built around this talented core, and opened the checkbook to make that happen — something the previous ownership would have never done.
3. He approved trades that other owners would have vetoed — because they made no sense from a short-term economic standpoint. Who else wanted the bloated contract of Juwan Howard, for example? No one.
But let’s look how this single transaction for an overrated power forward helped build a championship-caliber team (note that I’ve left out some of the spare-parts players in the following trades):
The Mavs acquired Juwan Howard from the Washington Wizards for virtually nothing in 2000-2001.
The next year, the Mavs were able to trade Howard to Denver for Raef LaFrentz and Nick Van Exel.
In 2003-2004, the Mavs traded Van Exel to Golden State for Antawn Jamison and LaFrentz to Boston for Antoine Walker.
In 2004-2005, the Mavs traded Walker for Jason Terry and Jamison for Jerry Stackhouse and the draft rights to Devin Harris.
Three guys in the Mavs’ current eight-man rotation — Jet, Stack and Devin — were produced from nothing but the willingness of an owner to take chances.
4. Unlike some owners, after Cuban agreed to spend big bucks on players like Walker and Jamison in 2003-2004, he didn’t insist on giving them more playing time at the expense of two unheralded rookies who came out of nowhere that year: Josh Howard and Marquis Daniels.
In many cities, Howard and Daniels would’ve been consigned to the pine and ultimately traded without being given a chance. That’s exactly why Jermaine O’Neal is in Indiana now instead of Portland.
5. After the 2002-2003 team made the conference finals with a run-and-gun style but failed to win it all, Cuban began having philosophical differences with Don Nelson. He began to believe that the only way the Mavs could win was to be able to play at different tempos, and to play better defense. That meant Nelson and Nash — a coach and player who are only at their best in an uptempo style — had to go.
Shooing Nash out the door may be Cuban’s bravest move of all, because he went against his instincts — to give his stakeholders (fans, customers, investors, etc.) what they want — for the sake of larger, longer-term goals. If only every CEO in America followed this example.
Once Cuban decided to change his game philosophy, he was fortunate to find Avery Johnson, the perfect coach to make it reality. He was also fortunate to have a player like Dirk, who has worked so hard on his game every year since coming into the league in 1998. Watching Dirk’s development on the court from season to season has been the highlight in all my years as a sports fan.
Thanks, Mark, for making it happen.
Technorati tags: Mark Cuban
Tags: dallas, mavericks, nba, sports