from part of a longer article... MAD MAV: Dallas owner Mark Cuban continues to deny that the Mavs have interest in Knicks center Kurt Thomas but Cuban has his reasons for playing it coy with the media. The Mavs have failed to add a significant player this summer, losing out on Karl Malone to the Lakers and on Brad Miller to Sacramento. Also, Cuban believed he had Alonzo Mourning signed to a four-year contract only to lose him to the Nets under unique circumstances. According to a league source, Mourning had verbally agreed to a deal with Dallas when Cuban asked the center to contact Jason Kidd and convince him to join the Mavs. It was during that conversation that Kidd convinced Mourning to back out of his deal with Dallas and sign the same contract with the Nets. Cuban, who was said to be outraged over Mourning's decision, is eager to make a move. One possibility is trading Raef LaFrentz for Thomas and Charlie Ward. http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/story/104638p-94667c.html
If anything, it was Cuban's fault for asking Mourning to persuade Kidd to go to the Mavs. Thats his job, not Alonzo's.
Heh....but not really you know. He's a pretty smart guy......created all this software and stuff and is a super rich guy...acts stupid though.
i'm sorry but cuban MIGHT have computer intelligence/skills but he does not have sports intelligence. I read on ESPN how last year he halted a multiplayer trade because he didn't want his competition getting an upperhand or what not...and now he's learning that whatever goes around comes around. It's like when a GM suckered another GM and brags about it (forgot who but this happened in baseball), you KNOW that guy wont' be getting a lot of calls when the trade deadline hits. Cuban thinks his eccentric ways will lure talent. I'm sorry but he has not lure one single talent other than Nick Van Exel and that was because Van Exel wanted out of Denver no matter what it meant. Cuban sucks.
I wouldn't go so far as saying he has no sports intelligence. Does anyone remember the Mavericks before Cuban took over? They had been the laughing stock of the league for 10 years. Now they're a championship contender. Whether they would have 1 it last year with a healthy Dirk we will never know.
Uh, considering they were down basically 3-1 when Dirk went down, I'd say no, they wouldn't have won jack squat.
Having met Cuban, I can say that he's supremely egotistical and somewhat goofy - he's a geek who got rich but is still a geek inside. What he DOES have is a fan's passion for his team. Unlike Uncle Les, fans here know that he really cares about winning. That can be a good thing (Dirk Nowitzski) or a bad thing (Shawn Bradley, Rafe LaFrenz). The Mavs were LESS than sh*t when he bought them. He opened the checkbook and poured in the resources to completely remake this franchise. The result is that they have progressed more in 3 years than have the Rockets in the past 10 years who became stagnant under the RT, CD & LA regime. The fact is that Cuban got played by Mourning who used him to set the market price for his services which he then used to get the big deal with New Jersey. Also, the fact is that folks in the know around the Heat have privately reported that Mourning is a shadow of the player he once was. There is serious doubt that he could have made a difference battling the murderous row of 7-footers playing in the West. Zo knew it too which is why he decided to stay in the East.
