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You left out the "Goodbye, Cruel World" part...
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Its not just business, its personal
In the NBA when a player is signed to a contract, the business side is downplayed. Everyone is happy. Everyone knows there is an incredible amount of risk taken, but its a time to celebrate and ignore what could go wrong. All is right in the world.
When teams have to release a player, the NBA becomes a business and all involved say just that. Its just a business and we all understand that these things happen. But its not true. The NBA is never just a business. Its always business. Its always personal. All good businesses are personal. The best businesses are very personal.
Creating a close connection to those you do business with has its many risks, rewards and consequences. There are few things in business i have encountered that are more difficult than firing someone, particularly if that someone has always been, or has become a friend. On the flipside, I have been rewarded with many friends
Michael Finley is one of those people I am proud to call my friend. Releasing Fin last night was one of the hardest things I have had to do as owner of the Mavs. (Trading Erik Strickland was probably the hardest. Strick did more to help me my first year than anyone.). Even more difficult than releasing Mike was having the conversations with him about what our options were
The model for success in the NBA has changed over the past 6 years I have been in the league. When I first got to the Mavs, there was no luxury tax, revenues from TV and the league went up every year, as did the salary cap. That changed dramatically with the leagues new TV deal and it changed even further with this years new collective bargaining agreement. Rather than an environment where salaries could go up because the cap and revenues were going up, we entered an environment where trades were made almost exclusively for financial reasons and rarely for basketball skill reasons.
The Mavs tried to take advantage of the situation. When the annual league revenue increases stopped and a luxury tax loomed, teams adjusted their financial profiles. To get under the tax threshold, they offered good players packaged with horrible contracts. We took them. We hoped the talent would get us a championship before the number of bad contracts we took on in trades caught up with us.
It didnt happen
Over the past year we have done our best to try to “rebuild” and still be in a position to win a championship. We have always been good at developing young players. We work hard to give them personal attention and skills development. We are working to improve it even further and have completely upgraded our development programs this summer.
We are also significantly changing how we scout NBA players. It has become more organized, structured and planned rather than “gut feel ”. We have a coach who is far more systematic in his approach to both
More importantly we have gone from just trying to acquire talent to have assets that in turn might be traded for better talent, to making sure we have players that fill a role for Coach Johnson’s vision of the team. Today, and for the future with young players that we can develop to fill those roles on future Mavs teams.
Which brings us back to Mike. Under the new CBA, the amount of money we would be able to save by waiving Mike, and invoking the amnesty provision, when combined with some financial clauses in the way his contract was structured and the money that could be returned as part of the NBA set off contract provisions, could put our cash savings in the next 3 years at more than 90mm dollars. Thats a lot of money.
Now I would be shocked if we are able to realize all of that and stay under the tax amount, but even saving that much money in essence gives us a “do over” in terms of financial flexibility when it comes to signing new players. It gives me a chance to recover from the mistakes I made.
Are we going to get back in the business of taking on bad contracts to get a single player. No. Will we consider trading short term contracts for longer, more expensive players, yes. If it makes basketball sense and doesnt inhibit our future. The difference going forward today vs the past is that Avery and Donnie are putting in programs and structure that will allow us to better evaluate players and choose those that put our team in the best position to succeed. We never did that in the past.
We made trades because we thought we knew players. Im embarrased to admit, but this summer was the first time we actually brought in non rookie Free Agents that we were interested in to work out. Before, we just called the agents of guys we liked and tried to work out deals.
Avery and Donnie and Joe P have watched more tape in a week of players that we have talked about in trades or Free Agency then we have watched in any summer since I bought the team and maybe in all combined.
Its my fault that we got to this point.
I never should have authorized deals without asking for far more details. I was guilty of being overly optomistic. I wanted to believe that the next deal was the one that was the difference maker. I found ways to rationalize the business side and how i would only be losing a few more dollars and that if it made the difference it was worth it. I enabled a culture where we always thought that if we had assets to trade we could fix a mistake.
I was wrong.
We should have done several years ago what the organization is doing now to improve our player evaluation and development.
The template for success in the NBA changed from the Portland model of 1999-2000 when I got to the league, to the Detroit, San Antonio, Miami model. The finances and rules of the league evolved. The winning teams were ahead of the curve or evolved as the business of the NBA changed. Today, success seems to come from being a smart organization that can identify and develop young talent and have the financial and or cap flexability to be opportunistic and improve your team in season or during the offseason.
Although we have succeeded on the court to the point of 5 straight 50 plus win seasons, we certainly didnt do it “the best way” . We did it the most expensive way. It cost us flexibility and created lots of bad habits. That was my mistake and it ended up costing us Mike.
Waiving Mike gave us the opportunity to reclaim financial flexibility. It never should have gotten to this point. My mistakes let it. Which makes it all the more painful. Its business, but it really is personal.
Im learning. Our organization is learning. The bright side is that I like the team we have going into the year. Our guys have been working hard to get better this summer. I think having AJ for a full training camp along with 11 returning players will allow us to compensate for losing Mike and hopefully be a better team.
Last edited by picnroll; 08-18-2005 at 09:54 AM.
You left out the "Goodbye, Cruel World" part...
I admire Mark Cuban for owning his mistakes. That`s character.
Marcus Bryant enjoys the fact that he's gotten under picnroll's skin so.
Anyways, life was harder for Mark Cuban since he didn't have a Tim Duncan fall into his lap. He had some money to burn and tried to make the franchise compe ive any way he could.
Hate to disappoint you but you haven't "gotten under picnroll's skin", in fact I enjoy most of your posts. There are very few that annoy me, an example would be IceColdBrewski.
I guess I missed those championship parades in Portland.The template for success in the NBA changed from the Portland model of 1999-2000 when I got to the league
Let's be honest here, the Spurs' success is about 80% due to drafting Tim Duncan. Ginobili, despite all of the Spurs' due diligence, was a total lucky draw (not that I am complaining). For me, the talent acquisition that commands the most respect was Parker. No less than 5 teams in dire need of a point guard passed on him in the 1st round back in 2001.
The front office has done a great job in building a team around him. But it's hard to dog Cuban too much when he never really had a franchise player fall into his lap in the first place. Not that he would probably mind a young athletic man falling into his lap, but that's for another thread...
Cuban's biggest mistake was letting Don Nelson stick around for so long.
Yeah, Nelson apparently suckered Cuban into believing that offense wins championships.
Do you think Avery will change the Mavs to be more defensive minded instead of run and gun?
Absolutely. As long as Cuban will give AJ the freedom to structure the team in that mold.
If he has any brains at all he know DEFENSE wins championships. And Im sure Avery learned alot from Pop.
Well apparently Mavs have offered Diop a three year $6 million deal. Not sure they're off to such a great start on their new plan of action.
For the past few years, it became obvious that these guys were simply "making trades just to make trades". Every summer was like a revolving door in that organization. Trying to hit the home run in 1 year. This blog confirms it.
Big ups to Cuban for owning up to the mistakes. However, Nelson should also be blamed for his "over zealous, talent-hoarding tactics" that helped get them in this position.
Big Nellie was famous for talking up the talent and potential of a specific player on another team, acquiring him, quickly becoming disenchanted with him and then wanting to ship him out.
This is the same guy who became so enamored with Shawn Bradley, at a time when no one wanted him, that he hailed him "a cornerstone piece of our future". This is after Bradley had already failed miserably in both Philadelphia and New Jersey. And at the end of his contract, what did the Mavs do? They signed him to a new 6-yr, 36mil contract! Unbelievable!
As a Dallas resident (and Spurs fan of course), I've laughed at the way these guys have repeatedly jumped in front of the cameras and microphones every year trying the justify deals that brought in players like Raef LaFrentz, Antoine Walker, Calvin Booth, Shawn Bradley, Keith Van Horn, Alan Henderson, Erick Dampier among others. Now all of a sudden, they get fiscally responible and let Nash and Finley walk - without compensation! The cardinal sin in player transactions.
With Big Nellie calling a lot of the shots, and with Cuban's backing, it's no wonder they are in the financial position they are in. And if they think they're gonna win a championship during the Duncan era - THINK AGAIN!
They do need a big man help with two aging centers one of which I think is pretty useless in ials SB, at least they will have a young body and who knows, it could work out well for them.
Rule of thumb, whenever you see the Knicks and Mavs the only ones vying for a player, particularly a big man, bet large amounts of money that that player sucks.
I just shook my head when I used to work in Ft. Worth. And the people up there buy it, hook, line & sinker.As a Dallas resident (and Spurs fan of course), I've laughed at the way these guys have repeatedly jumped in front of the cameras and microphones every year trying the justify deals that brought in players like Raef LaFrentz, Antoine Walker, Calvin Booth, Shawn Bradley, Keith Van Horn, Alan Henderson, Erick Dampier among others.
The Mavs are nothing but a playtoy for Cuban.
But it's hard to dog Cuban too much when he never really had a franchise player fall into his lap in the first place
Dirk?
My only response to reading the above is "duh". I don't see what's so courageous about Cuban admitting his mistakes when everybody outside of his organization and fanbase knew they were mistakes. Cuban received credit for success achieved by players that were there before he arrived and achieved what they did in spite of him, not because of him. And I would consider Dirk Nowitzki a franchise player that fell into his lap, as would most of the other teams that passed on him in the draft, including the Celtics.
Not that Nellie deserves much more credit. He drafted fifteen foreign white big men. Probability states that eventually one's gonna hit. Finley was a throw in on the Kidd trade IIRC, and Nash looked like he was going to be a huge waste of money for a while, then he got good, and, whoops, they let him go back to Phoenix.
Using your "80%" theory, every team who has ever drafted a "franchise" player, or picked up a significant free agent also fits the same category (i.e. Jordan, Jabbar, O'Neal, Russell, etc). The ratio is actually closer to 50-50 IMO--Duncan being half, and management being half. Not only was drafting Parker a great move, but finding Ginobili was even greater. Getting Bowen, trading for Nazr, etc., are other examples of superb management. Unlike the Mavs, the Spurs were very smart with their money and it has paid off with 3 championships. I think Cuban did what he thought was right...buying a championship ala Georgie Boy of the Yankees, but it simply hasn't worked out. Don't tell me Nowitzki is not a franchise player, because he clearly is...you have to put the right players around him. Bottom line: the Spurs are a successful franchise with or without Duncan. Championships without Tim--not likely, but successful nevertheless.
Nowitzki is not in the class of a Duncan or Shaq. Actually, I should have been more descriptive and pointed out that Cuban did not end up with one of the two greatest bigmen in NBA history playing today. I don't subscribe to the theory that Duncan is on par with Nowitzki, Garnett, KBryant, McGrady, Nash, etc...Duncan and Shaq are in a class by themselves.
Comparing the Mavs with the Spurs is a bit unfair. Now, if we are talking about a team like the Pistons, sure, flame Cuban away.
And getting Ginobili was pure luck. Yes, it came as a result of the Spurs' strategy to invest in international scouting, but it's not like the Spurs knew he would star one day.
I don't ever remember an owner of any team admit to so many mistakes. I gotta give Cuban credit for his mea culpa. He didn't spare himself and didn't try to lay off the blame on Don Nelson as most owners would have done.
It'll be interesting if he lives up to his pledge to listen to AJ and copy the Spurs player management practices.
Nowitzki is an MVP candidate when healthy, he's two years younger than Duncan, he's been surrounded by all-star and now MVP caliber talent. There are people in Dallas that say the only reason the Spurs beat the Mavs in the playoffs in '03(?) is because Nowitzki got hurt. I agree that Duncan is better, and is built for the playoffs. And maybe I'm not clear on what you meant, but comparing the Mavs to the Spurs is whole lot closer comparison IMO than comparing them to the Pistons, because the Pistons weren't building a team around a superstar.
And I thought Ginobili was going to be a star the day the Spurs drafted him. Why wouldn't the Spurs? The reason Ginobili wasn't a higher pick is because he wasn't going to be immediately available, and the Spurs' SYSTEM allowed them the luxury of not having to spend a pick on someone who could contribute right away.
I never heard anyone during the Bulls era say
"The bulls aren't a great franchise cause they got lucky in drafting jordan"
And you may have missed his point. Portland, before they emploded against the Lakers in the 2000 WCF were on thier way to success in the spend now, ask why later model of team building, that Cuban and Dallas "Bought" into. While this model did not work in Portland, the Yankees made a living at it for many years in MLB.
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