Cuban Makes Cents

As usual, the Dallas Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban, has a gripe. While making that statement is old hat, the fact that his remarks are justified offer something that in itself should be analyzed.  Throughout his tenure as the boss of the Texas based franchise, Cuban is notoriously known for his antics, whether they occur on the sideline right next to his team’s bench, or on SportsCenter, freely offering his opinion to all comers.  NBA Commissioner David Stern is of particular interest to Cuban, as he continually bashes heads with the leader of the league.  Most of the comments are brushed aside by sports aficionados due to the well known fact that he will often times wear his emotions on his sleeve.  Yet, to the thankfulness of the media, Cuban lashes about anything and everything.

Such was the case on Thursday, as Cuban stressed his displeasure with the ongoings at the NBA trade deadline.  While not so much upset about the Mavericks lack of making any moves to better their chances of capturing NBA glory, Cuban was once again challenging David Stern.  Due to financial issues, the struggling New Orleans Hornets  are under league control, which also means the other 29 teams have a vested interest in the operations of the team.  Thus, when the Hornets (who were rescued by the NBA for $300 million) were active at the deadline, it ruffled Cuban’s feathers.  

The minor deal sent forward Carl Landry to New Orleans in exchange for guard Marcus Thornton and cash considerations.  At first, it sounds like a classic situation of Cuban being Cuban, where his motive for being angry would stem from the fact that the New Orleans would likely face his Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs.  However, digging a little deeper, one sees his true reason for the tirade: the financially strapped club also took on more salary.  Who is flipping the bill for that?  You guessed it, the other owners of the league.  In his rampage, Cuban remarked, “There's so few teams in the league that can afford to do that and yet we're allowing a team that's owned by the league to do that?”  He also added, “I don't need to be competing economically with the league and myself."  

To me, if the New Orleans Hornets are expected by the league to be supported and kept alive by the other owners, those members should have some say in operational dealings, especially when its their money that is ultimately being spent.  While I am a proponent for the Hornets in trying to better their chances for success and survival, it cannot be thrown into the faces of the rest of the NBA.  This lack of respect shown to the owners by its leader, David Stern, could come to haunt the league, as the Collective Bargaining Agreement is set to expire soon.  Unfortunately for the NBA and the other struggling franchises, people tend to have long memories, especially when money is involved.