Sports Radio Interviews

Mark Cuban: “It’s really, really difficult as an owner to pick the right coach and know you’ve got the one that lasts forever.”

This post was written by Chris Fedor of WKNR in Cleveland. You see him courtside for Mavericks games, you see him doing interviews on treadmills and you see him yelling at officials constantly. Mark Cuban is one of the most hands-on and entertaining owners in all of sports, but he also wins. Even though he is still without an NBA Championship, the Mavericks have never missed the playoffs since he took over ownership of the team and they have one NBA Finals appearance as well. Not too shabby considering the 20 years prior to Cuban taking over ownership, the Mavericks had a winning percentage of 40%. Say what you want about Mark Cuban. He is vocal, he is brash and he’s controversial, but he also understands what it takes to win in the NBA and understands what it takes to be successful. 

Mark Cuban joined Mike and Mike on ESPN Radio to talk about the NBA season right around the corner, the toughest thing for an owner, how he handles twitter in the locker room and whether or not he wants to own another sports team.

On the patience that an owner needs to show:

“It really comes down to who do you trust in the organization.  If you have a general manager that has proven themselves and you really trust, he’s probably telling you ‘hey we just got off to a bad start, just bear with us.’  If you trust him that’s what you have to do.  Realize the Mavs got off to a 0-4 start and ending up winning 67 games.  We got off to a terrible start and ended up going to the Finals.  Getting off to a slow start is not necessarily the big problem, it’s who do you trust.  One of the hardest things to do as an owner is hire a Head Coach and hire a General Manager because if they’re out there looking for a job chances are they’ve done something wrong or they haven’t had the experience so its hard to say that they have a perfect track record.  And then when you’re talking to them they put on the date face.  No one goes on their first date and starts picking their nose.  You don’t see the warts till after it’s too late.  It’s really, really difficult as an owner to pick the right coach and know you’ve got the one that lasts forever.”

On an owner being too hands on:

“From my end, when I get to the point that I trust you, I can take a step away.  So with the Mavericks, with Donnie Nelson and Rick Carlisle, my role is kind of the long-term fund manager or asset manager.  They’re job is to try and get me a winner now.  My job is balance the short-term versus the long-term and the money.  They’re not looking to see what the sales are and all that kind of stuff going through.  But once you trust somebody, you can turn over the reigns.  That’s the hard part.  Daniel (Snyder) hasn’t had that success yet.  He’s been knocking on the door, he’s been trying to get there and he hasn’t had that person where he can say ‘you’re right, you’ve got it down, I’m just going to turn it over.’  If you haven’t gotten to that point you’re inclination is to say ‘ok I’ve got to dig in more’ because if you’re a successful business person and that’s how you get to own a team, all your competitive juices are saying I’ve got to dive in because I can’t stand losing.”

On whether or not he has a problem with one of his player’s twittering:

“If I see someone twittering, I’m just going to look them in their eye.  I don’t have to say a word because it’s like where is your attention going?  I don’t mind if guys twitter.  They want to build their brand and I like that they can connect with the fans.  I think that’s a good thing.  My two things that I’ll tell the guys is team business is team business.  What happens in the locker room stays in the locker room and if you violate that I’m going to fine your butt.  Number two is never vent.  That’s where you get in trouble.  The guys who have gotten in trouble so far have tried to get things of their chest.  The reality is saying it on twitter is just like saying it on ESPN Radio.  It’s no different.  It lives forever.”

On what other team he would want to own if he had his choice:

“Oh man.  I don’t know.  Once the Cubs didn’t happen and that’s one of those deals that you’re glad didn’t happen with the way the economy played out, I’d probably say in my heart of hearts it would have to be the Pittsburgh Pirates.  Not from a business standpoint, that wouldn’t be the best business move, but it just kills me that the team that I grew up with has sucked so bad for so long.”

On whether or not he would want to own another team:

“If it’s the right deal I would, but my wife would divorce me so there’s a real balancing act there.”

Listen to Mark Cuban on ESPN Radio with Mike and Mike (9:00 into podcast)

Tags: Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, NBA, NBA players twittering, sports owners