Source: http://0rz.tw/31Pwk
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Winning is still the currency that drives Dallas Mavericks' Cuban
02:13 PM CDT on Thursday, April 23, 2009 / By BRAD TOWNSEND
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Mavericks president Terdema Ussery flipped to his newspaper sports section
last Tuesday and chuckled.
There in the cover photo was his boss, Mark Cuban, rejoicing after Jason
Terry's game-winning shot against Minnesota. Arms raised, jumping, screaming,
the frozen moment is vintage Cuban – suspended in time, if not exactly
midair.
"I told my wife, 'That picture could have been taken 10 years ago,' " Ussery
said. "No difference at all. There's your owner, with his 6-inch vertical
leap."
Cuban's youthful appearance, drive and exuberance have changed little since,
at age 41, he signed a letter of intent to purchase the Mavericks on Jan. 3,
2000.
In reality, he is now 50, a married father of two girls, has an artificial
left hip and according to Forbes, is at least $137 million lighter in the
wallet where the Mavericks are concerned.
"I'm not going to comment on our P&L [profit and loss] specifics," Cuban
said. "But I have always said I'm in this to win, not make money."
For most pro sports owners, such a bottom line would be cause for alarm. In
Cuban's case, the subject evokes a sweat-dripping shrug from atop the
StairMaster outside the Mavericks' locker room, where he churns before most
home games.
Tonight, his Mavericks host San Antonio in Game 3 of a best-of-seven,
first-round NBA playoff series that is tied, 1-1. For some teams, extended
playoff runs make the difference between loss and profit, or between profit
and prosperity.
Not so the Mavericks. Even though this is their ninth straight playoff
appearance, Cuban recalls finishing in the black only twice during his
tenure, although according to Forbes' figures it happened only once.
Why? Player salaries. Dallas consistently exceeds the NBA salary cap, usually
dramatically so. Ussery said the Mavericks consistently rank among the NBA's
top four revenue producers, despite ticket-price decreases in some arena
levels the past four years.
"Mark is not a dumb guy," said Ussery, who was hired as team president in
1998 by Cuban's predecessor, Ross Perot Jr. "Mark knows that if he wanted to
churn cash and it was his only objective, if he stayed at the salary cap we'd
be churning cash tomorrow."
Thanks to the owner's millions – and not-so-small contributions from
departed coaches Don Nelson and Avery Johnson and core players like Dirk
Nowitzki – the Cuban decade represents one of the most remarkable
turnarounds in pro sports history.
The franchise that produced a ghastly 240-550 regular-season record during
the 1990s is a diametrically opposite 539-251 under Cuban.
Dallas' 0-3 playoff showing in 1990 preceded 10 straight seasons without a
playoff berth. Tonight is playoff game No. 93 of the Cuban era, which has
produced one trip to the NBA Finals (2006) and another to the conference
finals (2003).
Diminishing returns
But with two straight first-round playoff ousters, the on-court returns for
Cuban's millions were diminishing.
He hired Rick Carlisle to replace Johnson, and despite a 2-7 start, the
Mavericks won 50 games, becoming only the fourth franchise to reach or
surpass that watermark for nine straight seasons.
Opening this year's playoffs with a victory in San Antonio was a significant
step forward. But there remains the sense that this series is a crossroad in
Cuban's ownership, particularly for this cast of players.
"That's a dumb question," said Cuban, laughing, when asked before the
playoffs to characterize the state of the franchise. "The reality is there's
no state. Everything's always in flux.
"We're always trying to do the best we can. What state were the Lakers in two
years ago, when they were about to trade Kobe [Bryant]? What state were the
Celtics in two years ago?"
The competitive look in Cuban's eyes and the tone in his voice more than
implied that he intends to do what he can to return the Mavericks to the
NBA's elite.
It's the same passion for basketball that Ussery said still lures Cuban into
pickup games at the Premier Club. And it perhaps explains why, for the first
time in his tenure, he publicly called out his team after a lackluster March
2 loss to woeful Oklahoma City.
"Not only did it look like we had no idea what we were doing, but we did it
without effort," he said then. "The effort and energy, on both sides of the
ball, by each player will decide their future with the Mavericks."
Dallas only finished 14-8 after Cuban's comments, but clearly played with
more urgency in winning seven of its last nine.
"Look, being a professional athlete isn't a whole lot different than working
for The Dallas Morning News," Cuban said. "When there's uncertainty, it
affects your job performance. You're going to have ups and downs, depending
on what you think can, or can't, be accomplished.
"That's reality. I just kind of wanted to get everybody back on the same page
– that we're here to win."
A little more mellow
So much, apparently, for the perception that Cuban had taken a step back from
the Mavericks.
Sure, he sits near the Mavericks' bench for almost every home and away game,
loudly encouraging his players and disagreeing with referees.
He is still the public face of the franchise, but he notes that he gives
considerably fewer in-depth interviews.
If he has something to say, he prefers to do so through his blog. He says
president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson and Carlisle are more
qualified to publicly address basketball matters.
Cuban emphasizes that his commitment to the franchise hasn't changed, but
admits that losses don't weigh on him as long as they did before he had
daughters Alexis and Alyssa, who now greet him at home with hugs and kisses.
"So I've kind of mellowed out in terms of after-games, but haven't really
mellowed out in terms of in-games," he said. "Maybe a little bit, just
because I'm used to seeing everything now."
At least one Maverick notices a difference. Days after the Mavericks blew a
2-0 lead by losing four straight to Miami in the 2006 Finals, Nowitzki told
The News that Cuban needed to better control his temper, especially toward
referees.
Now?
"We don't see that much of him anymore," Nowitzki said. "I remember when he
first bought the team, he was all over us. He was at every practice, every
game.
"And now I think the family has slowed him down a little bit. He doesn't
travel as much. Practice days, we never see him anymore."
Perhaps it is a matter of perspective. Jason Kidd has only known Cuban well
since he was acquired from New Jersey 14 months ago, with Cuban barely
blinking at Kidd's $20 million salary and the luxury-tax hit.
"Is that supposed to be a trick question?" he laughed, when asked if Cuban
had mellowed.
But Kidd also has the perspective of having played for the Mavericks from
1994-96, in rarely full Reunion Arena. Now the Mavericks have sold out an
NBA-best 317 straight regular-season home games and tonight will register
their 41st straight home playoff sellout.
"From the way it was when I was here the first time, I think he's done a
remarkable job," Kidd said. "I know it takes money. He's into the product,
for the fans to enjoy."
According to Forbes, the Mavericks lost $13.6 million last year, largely
because of their $103 million in player salaries and bonuses. The magazine's
year-by-year operating income chart for Dallas dating to 2000 adds to a
minus-$137 million, which doesn't include 2009.
Cuban and Ussery decline to confirm or debunk the figures, but two NBA
executives say the magazine's annual findings are generally accurate.
However much he's lost, it seems to be a minor concern to Cuban, whose net
worth according to Forbes' most recent ranking was $2.3 billion.
"Of course I'm concerned about it, but like I said, I've been blessed," he
said. "Depending on where the economy goes, we'll have to make adjustments.
But I've got money. I don't have a championship."
Technically, the first Cuban decade won't end until December of next season.
But despite past frustrations with the league that caused him to consider
selling, he sees more ownership decades, plural, in the Cuban family's
future.
"Unless the league does something so stupid – or at least stupid to me;
maybe smart to them – that I can't deal with it, then I don't see any reason
why my kids and grandkids and their grandkids can't own it."
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