04/24/24
July 05, 2004
Mavs owner lets his guard down: Mark Cuban, who may be the best owner in pro sports at communicating with fans, explains in great detail why he let Steve Nash go. "It’s a question I’m going to hear for a long time."
posted by rcade to basketball at 07:49 AM - 9 comments
Wow. Great post by Cuban. I wonder how much shit he'll get from agents and GM's for spilling some of the inside dope on how these things work? Then again, he surely doesn't give a damn. Thanks for the link rcade, it was a great read.
posted by vito90 at 11:14 AM on July 05, 2004
that's what I was waiting for. and it was worth it. a very good read.
posted by gspm at 11:55 AM on July 05, 2004
Yes, Cuban is a pretty straight up guy, love that blog. I am a big Steve Nash fan, but am perpetually frightened that his abilities will just up and leave him one day and he'll be rendered useless. He's not a great shooter, he's just relentless. Phoenix gives him a couple of good targets, but no one like Dirk. Anyone see this working out very, very badly?
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 12:49 PM on July 05, 2004
I have his feed in the aggegator and while the post itself is interesting and far more informative than one could have expected, it's also amusing to see the post updated every few hours as he (or his staff) makes a change. Too bad that SharpReader doesn't keep copies so we could runn a diff after it stablizes.
posted by billsaysthis at 02:47 PM on July 05, 2004
Nash doesn't appreciate Cuban's story. Nash said the fallout from his departure has soured him somewhat. While Nash remains thankful to the organization and the fans, he is upset over comments by Cuban that Duffy and Nash could have facilitated a sign-and-trade, giving the Mavericks something in return for the point guard. "That's not our job," Nash said. "He had a whole year to get ready for this. He knew I was opting out. I just think that, all along, he didn't want me back. I think everything that has come out since then shows that Mark is in this for himself." Nash said the offer Cuban made to counter Phoenix's six-year, $65 million deal was "for barely half that much." The offer was for $39 million over four seasons, according to Cuban's Web log.
posted by dusted at 12:43 PM on July 08, 2004
I read about that on the train this morning, dusted, and was a bit disappointed. Steve's quotes, when taken as a whole, seem more like he's coming from a resigned point of view. I hope this is the end of the media and Cuban/Nash talking about this, as nothing will come of it. Last season, when Van Exel came back to Dallas for the first time, the crowd gave him one hell of a standing O and cheered everything he did for the first quarter. I'd love to see the same happen for Nash, but it's looking less and less likely.
posted by Ufez Jones at 01:48 PM on July 08, 2004
Why would the Dallas fans hold this against Nash? The Suns offered a lot more money than the Mavs, so of course Nash left town. Cuban went to great lengths to talk about the process, but the conclusion of his article is that basically Nash isn't worth the contract he got. He's pissing on Nash's success and making Phoenix look bad when he wrote stuff like this: "Our feeling was that we were fortunate that Steve had been so injury free." "There has only been 1 player ever over the age of 30 to get a max out deal or anything close and if Steve was the 2nd, more power to him." "I called Donnie and told him the range of numbers that I had given Steve, and that the offer was higher. I think Donnie was as stunned as I was... There was no way I was going to match it. The amounts were higher and the length was longer than I was willing to go for all the reasons I wrote about." I wondered what Cuban's intentions were in writing the column in the first place. To make Dallas fans understand him? He had to know Nash would get hurt and respond! It seems simple to me: Cuban had one idea of Nash's free market value, Phoenix had another. End of story! Why antagonize your former player, if not just to soothe your own ego?
posted by dusted at 04:42 PM on July 08, 2004
Why would the Dallas fans hold this against Nash? The Suns offered a lot more money than the Mavs, so of course Nash left town. People, especially sports fans, being how they are, there will be a certain sect screaming "Sell-out!". I'm not even close to that camp, but there will be some. And if this deal with Cuban turns into too much of a petty pissing match, then it'll sour Nash's relationship with the Mavs, which the fans will in turn take out on Steve. Not agreeing at all, just my (admittedly misanthropic) opinion. I wondered what Cuban's intentions were in writing the column in the first place. An ill-fated attempt at damage control, I'm guessing. Just trying to cover his own ass from the media and fan backlash. I just hope this the end of the story.
posted by Ufez Jones at 05:11 PM on July 08, 2004
Wow. I'm not a big basketball fan, but that was one hell of an article/posting by Mr. Cuban. To lay out all that information (from his point of view...there MIGHT have been embellishments/omissions) is a great insight into the business of sports. I'm a fan of the Raptors only because of territory and TV, but I think I'm becoming a fan of the Mavs this year too. (though it would be easier if they still had our Canuck boy Nash) I'm definitely adding this blog to my daily reading.