Q&A: Mark Cuban...Updated

Posted by Unknown on Sunday, August 24, 2014 with No comments
Courtesy of KRLD FM


On what he would have done if he had accepted the ice bucket challenge:
“I was going to have one of our guys throw a basketball at a bucket of ice on a hoop. It was going to hit the backboard, hit the ice which was going to fall down. Then the water was going to stop. I was going to take a selfie with the water in the background, write a check and then get soaked. You know, just something simple.”
On what social media has done to the ice bucket challenge:
“We’ve gotten to the point now where it’s not so much about ALS or raising money. It’s really a social media phenomenon and I’m starting to feel bad for a lot of the other charities who are going to have a far more difficult time raising money. A lot of people are going to try to copy what ALS has done and it’s going to be impossible. Someone else is going to have to come up with something completely different. Not to take anything away from ALS. Whatever amount of money they raise, good for them. It's a terrible disease. You never know which dollar is going to be the dollar that helps them find a cure. I think we may be reaching a point of diminishing returns. I don’t think I’m contributing to the benefit of anybody by continuing this because I think it’s going to start creating difficulties for other charities and diseases. I don’t want trying to coming up with an idea to fund raise to be about who is the most creative on social media. I don’t want to see a lot of charities waste a lot of money trying to come up with the next social media phenomenon. I just don’t feel comfortable with it at this point in time. Had I done it early I would have been like, ‘Yeah I was one of the early ones.’ That’s just my style. I've gotten challenged by Chandler [Parsons], I’ve been challenged by Jae Crowder, I’ve been challenged by a bunch of celebrities. I just don’t feel comfortable about it at this point.”


On Chandler Parsons’ off the court lifestyle is changing because of the major increase in salary:
“I don’t think it’s the money, I think it’s the fact that he went out with, what’s her name, Kendall Jenner? It’s more her than him. I don’t see [the money] making a huge change, that’s just not his personality. Every guy who is good goes through that though because you go off your rookie contract and if you’re good, you’re getting paid. I think it’s rare to find a guy who takes the money and is out. I think in Chandler’s case in talking to him, he wants to prove that he’s worth it. He’s working his butt off to do it. You never know until you know. It’s not like he was only good for one or two years, he was good for three years.”
On if Dirk Nowitzki taking a pay cut was contingent on signing a particular player:
“Dirk is the man. It wasn’t that type of conversation at all. Dirk and I sit and talk about all of this stuff. He knows the strategy, what we’re trying to do, why we’re doing it. He realizes that if he didn’t do it the chances of him being in a championship position weren’t nearly as good. Dirk is very, very good at saving his money and Holger [Geschwindner], his agent quote unquote, wears the same three pairs of pants and three shirts. He carries all of them in a gym bag so he’s good at saving a lot of his money. There wasn’t a lot of tension there. Dirk and I laid it on the line. There’s no question he could have gotten paid more money, but he wants to win.”
On an improved roster helping take the pressure of Dirk Nowitzki on offense:
“That is really the hope. Part of the lesson that we proved when we won and what San Antonio proved was that it wasn’t [Tim] Duncan getting that last-minute hoop. It was Patty Mills and Danny Green. Anybody was in a position to contribute. Manu Giniboli didn’t have a great last series, he did against us, but not afterwards. They were a good team. They moved the ball and got the open shot and they were smart. Literally in the Finals Patty Mills is sprinting up and hitting pull-up threes. It was almost like Nellie-ball. The lesson there isn’t can just one guy carry the load, but it’s can one team carry the load.”

On Shawn Marion signing with the Cleveland Cavaliers for a minimum deal:
“It’s different when you’re going back to your same team as supposed to going to a new team. I think there’s a different dynamic and different expectation. I have a great relationship with Shawn. We’ve kept in touch. We messaged yesterday. He just thought that he wanted to go to somebody that he thought, and this was all prior to signing Chandler [Parsons] and everything, that he thought was closer to a ring particularly in the Eastern Conference. He decided to go that route and we wish him nothing but the best. Trix is a champion in our eyes and always will be.”
On if he was happy with Chandler Parsons’ DNP-Coach's Decision against the Dominican Republic:
“Oh absolutely. Chandler and I have talked and I kind of know where his head is at but I told him, ‘Chandler, I’m not allowed to suggest one way or the other. You’ve got to do what you think is right. I’m here to answer any questions, but I’m not going to influence you, but it’s hard not to know where I stand.’ He says, ‘I know boss. Trust me, I know.’ That’s about all we can say and from there it’s up to him.”
On if the Olympics is about patriotism or money:
“There’s no such thing in my mind as false patriotism. When you put on the jersey, you’re doing it for the right reason. Everyone really knows what this is about because if it truly was patriotism, we would give a hard time to every player who refused to play. Why wouldn’t you? We give them a pass because we understand that they have to protect their future. There’s so many other places where we don’t give anybody a pass if you put the United States second. But everyone in the heart knows this is truly about economics, not truly about playing for your country. And if we give people a pass, not just in basketball but other sports as well, if we say, ‘Put your financial future ahead of playing in this tournament,’ we’re okay with that. Then it is about economics. There’s no if’s, and’s or but’s about it. The biggest trick the IOC ever played was making us believe the Olympics was about patriotism.”
On what he feels like being the only owner speaking out about international basketball:
“I’ve never had an owner come up to me about the subject and say I’m wrong. Never. They all thank me. And that’s typical of my role. It’s just not a lot of the owners’ nature to say anything publicly. You better believe OKC was breathing a sigh of relief when Kevin Durant stepped down. There was nobody in Oklahoma saying, ‘Darn. What about the USA and the Olympics?’ Everyone understood that it was the right decision for Kevin Durant. It is about money. We accept that it’s about money.”
On if there’s a number he’d listen to about selling the Mavericks:
“Yeah of course. If it was a trillion dollars I’d say yes.”
On Steve Ballmer’s excitement of owning an NBA franchise:
“I just wish he would have been around to give those speeches when I first came in. When we were in Reunion Arena, I used to run up and down the aisles trying to get people to cheer and to stand up. Literally, I was running up and down the aisles I was so pumped up and so excited. I remember going into a board of governors meeting and one of the old school guys, I won’t name him since he’s since passed away, said, ‘You haven’t done shinola in this league. You need to sit the eff down and shut the eff up. I never want to see you or hear from you again.' And David Stern literally had to tell him to calm down.”