Dallas Mavericks owner and Billionaire Mark Cuban is one of the most outspoken and animated NBA owners of recent times. Cuban purchased the Dallas Mavericks in 2000 for a staggering $285 million. In a conversation on the Pat Bev Podcast with Rone on Wednesday, he mentioned that he bought it from then-owner H. Ross Perot Jr. and was subjected to rigorous scrutiny before being handed over the reins. His investments gave 11x returns after he brought a change of culture to the organization, where he ensured each individual shared a close relationship with the staff and the players.
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Cuban, since he purchased the team, has been involved in the decision-making of the squad, coaches, and the ins and outs of the Mavs franchise. He made investments right from talent scouting and ensured that Dirk Nowitzki stuck with the team as he thought he could be the significant piece leading the Mavs to its ultimate goal of winning championships.
He brought in cultural changes and community involvement as he believed in giving back to people. He advocated IT and Innovation, bringing in enhanced fan experience for the people, which led to the Dallas Mavericks winning the Championships against the mighty Miami Heat in 2011.
Mark Cuban’s bold decision to buy the Dallas Mavericks
In conversation with Pat Bev and Rone, Cuban was asked about his purchase of the Dallas Mavericks at an inflated price of $285 million,
Everybody thought I was crazy (when he purchased Mavs) but and I was in a lot of respect because I didn’t care right I just made all this money and it was just like I was I’m a huge Hoops fan.” Cuban also said the was criticised by a lot of people around ‘”they’re like you’re an idiot you pay too much,” he said.
Cuban mentioned that he bought the Mavs for the love of basketball and did not even negotiate with then-owner H Ross Perot Jr. while purchasing the franchise. However, he also mentioned that people even called him an idiot, who paid too much for the franchise.
Well, the experts were squashed by the turnaround Cuban brought into the Mavs Organisation, and now it is valued at a staggering $3.3 billion.
Cuban also mentioned that one of the significant factors of the rise in the evaluation of Dallas Mavericks alongside the rest of the franchises is the NBA’s ability to secure massive TV deals. Before the TV deal, Cuban mentioned most of the NBA teams were losing money. The New Orleans Pelicans were up for sale in 2010, and nobody was in the market to acquire the team. Cuban said,
“NBA had to take over the New Orleans franchise and run the team. And why was that then nobody because nobody wanted to own a team this is before the big TV deals and everything started to happen and so teams were losing money a lot of teams are losing money and most teams were losing money before the big TV deal”
This TV deal was one of the significant reasons Cuban’s Mavs are currently valued at this cost and taunt the people criticizing his move to buy the team.
Cuban recalls the time when Dirk dunked on him
Cuban and Dirk share a special bond since his purchase of the squad back in the 2000s. In the Hall of Fame ceremony speech, Dirk shared a hilarious story about how team owner Cuban tried to impress the best player in the squad, Dirk, in the team’s first practice. However, Cuban ended up being dunked on and humiliated. Expressing his admiration for Cuban, Dirk says in his Hall of Fame ceremony,
“You have a huge heart, and you taught me a lot of lessons and loyalty. I will always remember when you bought the team and came to your first practice. You said, ‘Let’s play some one-on-one. I can play a little bit. So, of course, I drove left like I always do, and I dunked it right on your head. We had a great friendship and relationship ever since.”
This shows the atmosphere Mark brought in with his squad and the staff to where the franchise is now. Mark holds the utmost respect for the people on his payroll and the fans.
