Mark Cuban on the Luka Doncic trade and what's next for the Dallas Mavericks: "I feel bad for Nico and his family"
Mark Cuban doesn't allow just anyone to sit next to him at Dallas Mavericks games. Sitting courtside for 25 years, since he bought the team in 2000 for $285 million, Cuban has alway been animated and never quiet.
Ro Parrish's relationship with the former Mavs owner has grown over the years from employee to friend. And now, a coveted invitation to a courtside seat with the green light to ask him anything.
Last year, Cuban sold a majority stake in the team, valued at $3.5 billion, to the Adelson family, which also owns the Las Vegas Sands Corporation. After the team's shocking decision to ship Luka Doncic off to the Los Angeles Lakers, many wondered what Cuban thought about the decision (he still owns a minority share in the team).
That was just one of the topics Cuban and Parrish touched on in their courtside conversation.
Below are excerpts from their conversation, edited for clarity.
Parrish: When you came in, you changed the game.
Cuban: Yeah, I changed everything. I was like f*** it. I don't care. I'm going to do what I want.
Parrish: Looking back, are there things you wish you did differently?
Cuban: Yeah..I would have kept Steve Nash. I wish I would have been able to change officiating instead of wasting all those years and getting nowhere. I wish I would have drafted Yonas. Back then when we won the championship, I thought we were going to lock out the whole year. Maybe now is the time to start to rebuild. I would have done that differently. It's like stuff happening now. I made my mistakes.
Parrish: What succeeded?
Cuban: All kinds of little stuff. When I got here, the Mavs had three or four coaches and I had them bring in a former Mavs player so everyone had their own development coach. And that changed the NBA … everyone started working on team development.
I used to yell at the NBA...you think we're in the basketball business but we're in the experience business and you've got to make it where somebody can bring their 10-year-old and the 10-year-old is entertained. The videos in the jumbotron. The $10 tickets. I used to do that...if it was a blowout, I would go sit up in the top row with everyone. I always make sure we have at least 4,000 inexpensive tickets.
Parrish: Do you feel like you get the credit you deserve? Do you get the love and respect?
Cuban: I feel like I do...I hear it every day. A lot more love now. April Fools Day was [last week] and that April fools prank was out there...and it comes up every year.
Parrish: Out of 23 years, only two profitable seasons? Which two were those?
Cuban: The years we tanked. Those are the years you make money. Even the championship years...after you buy all the rings. Those are $140,000 each. It gets expensive real fast. When you're rebuilding, you're not spending up, you're focusing on the younger talent.
Parrish: What's changed?
Cuban: Lots of wrinkles. I used to look 15 years younger than my age. Not so much anymore. It pisses me off.
Parrish: There was a time you posted a picture on social of your kids and said, "these are the kids that will be running the team when I'm gone." I'm curious...what changed?
Cuban: Everything got meaner. There wasn't social [media] back then. I don't care what they say, but when you're in charge, it's constant. I was just like at some point, I don't want my kids to deal with it. Why would I put them in the position to do it? I want them to create their own path.
Parrish: Tell me about your relationship with Nico [Harrison].
Cuban: We'll be fine. It will take a little time but we'll get there.
Parrish: What do you think about the fans' reaction after the trade toward Nico?
Cuban: It is what it is. When you're in an industry where if you win a championship, half a million people show up in the streets so when you do something they don't like, just as many people are mad. I feel bad for Nico and his family in particular. I've had people yell "sell the team" to me in the past...one of the reasons I sold was because social media gets mean. And it got mean.
Parrish: So this Luka Lambo. I heard you had the same one as Luka.
Cuban: It was so loud and I had to fill it up every two minutes. My kids started giving me a hard time calling Luka my son because I copied everything he did.
Parrish: What were your thoughts on the protests and the crowd and how everyone reacted?
Cuban: I took my son out and he went out. I stayed in the car. The casket and everything, I was cracking up.
Parrish: What's next for you?
Cuban: I want to change healthcare. I want my family healthy. I want the Mavs to win another ring as soon as possible. You know.. probably in that order. I'm going to keep on grinding.
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