Mark Cuba bought a majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks in 2000.
Over the next 23 years, the Mark Cuba-run Dallas Mavericks has become one of the best franchises in the NBA.
Cuban’s owning style treated the likes of Dirk Nowitzki and Luka Doncic with the greatest respect, making it synonymous with being a player-first governor.
NBA legend Steve Nash became one of the best players in the league during his second tenure with the Phoenix Suns.
But before returning to Phoenix, Nash made his name while playing for the Mavericks. He left Mavs in the summer of 2004, and Cuba described it as the majority owner as one of the biggest conflicts of his time.
“Though he was playing in the game for about 29 minutes that season, and the doctors said he had all these orthopedic issues and this and that, and we made a good offer to him.
“… praise for Steve was when he called me and said, “Hey, they gave me Mike Bibby money, didn’t we? And we offered him $13 million or something,” Cuban said in the arena.
He added: “Mike Bibby’s money back then was $16 million. “This is something we’re stuck with, Steve. We want you back…”
“It wasn’t always that straight, it was the year I was two, I was four, and it made it harder to pay.
Nash will continue his best stretch of his career as the Sun, including winning two NBA MVPs.
Given that Nash is a 6’3” point guard, making a financially sound decision seemed like the right choice.
However, shortly after Cuba’s decision to allow Nash to walk, the NBA introduced hand-check rules to facilitate players’ scoring.
“They changed the rules a lot because the game was like 80-75 back then, and I remember being at the governor’s meeting.
“The game is too boring, too late. It’s not open. It’s really not physical. In 80-75 games, the team was able to go for six minutes without scoring points.
This rule facilitated Nash’s life, not only averaged the average points, but also increased court tempo for players. result? Nash’s playmaking also saw dramatic improvements.