Mark Cuban Hit with Massive Fine Over Comments

David Diaz, Senior Executive, Davenport Laroche

Mark Cuban, billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks and one of several “sharks” on the popular TV show “Shark Tank,” is not known for mincing words. Cuban has a habit of telling it like he sees it, and that has earned him millions of fans … it’s also cut some sizeable chunks out of his very big bank account. And it happened again recently.

The National Basketball Association (NBA) has fined Cuban for remarks he made during a podcast interview with NBA Hall of Famer Julius Erving. In that interview, Cuban quipped: “I’m probably not supposed to say this, but I just had dinner with a bunch of our guys the other night… And here we are. We weren’t competing for the playoffs. I was like, ‘Look, losing is our best option.’”

Cuban said the context of his remarks was frustration that his team had fallen from among the best in the league and couldn’t seem to claw its way back to those heights, when, not that long ago, the Mavs were fighting for a Western Conference Title nearly every season. That explanation was not good enough for NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, who called Cuban’s comments “detrimental to the NBA” before dropping a massive $600,000 fine on Cuban for the off-the-cuff remarks. Cuban defended the comments, saying they were included in an “honest talk” with certain players about what was best for their team at this point in what has been a disappointing season so far.

The Mavs have made some moves in recent years, trading big- name players Andrew Bogut and Deron Williams, but they haven’t been able to restock with talent in the draft. Lose a lot, and you can improve your draft status, helping your team in the long run. So, in principle, Cuban was right. With the current way the NBA draft lottery is set up, it’s generally better to be terrible than to be mediocre.

Privately, Silver might admit what Cuban said was accurate, and that the conversation Cuban had with his players, about their off-season plans to build the team, was forthright talk from of a conscientious owner… again, privately… Silver can’t allow those comments to hit the headlines on All-Star Weekend. Later, Cuban would apologize, at least indirectly, through Dallas head coach Rick Carlisle, who said Cuban was “embarrassed” by his comments. However, that won’t stop Cuban, or his comments, from motivating fans to choose sides. And Dallas fans will definitely choose sides on this issue. After all, the team isn’t giving them much to cheer about, as they are in the league cellar among teams with the fewest wins. So, at this point, any talk of getting better is likely to be well-received.

But giving up? Some die-hard fans won’t want to hear that. Even from their notoriously honest owner.

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