Memo to Mark Cuban: Sports aren't like the internet

By: Ray Dunseith

I'll start with my putting down of Mark Cuban by saying a few things about the guy. He is a genius. He made money off of very smart investments, and it’s not like he started off rich. He was born middle class and worked his way up to 10-digit status. He's from Steel City, and his dad was an auto-upholsterer. Cuban did well in school, got into college, held some smaller jobs to get by, and then when he saw computers were getting big he invested and made off big.

His smartest move was starting up broadcast.com and selling it to Yahoo for $6 bil. in stock. But what was his worst move? Was it letting Nash go? Was it making enemies with Davis Stern? Was it believing that Dirk Nowitzki can lead a team to a championship or was it trading for Jason Kidd?

None of the above. I think that his biggest mistake was firing Avery Johnson. He is the Mavericks. Why would you fire someone who got you to the NBA Finals 3 years ago? Sure they've been bounced first round two years in a row. But, in his (and the organization's defense), last year the Warriors were a completely different team after the trade deadline and were basically given two incredibly talented players for nothing (Dunleavy...yeah...). This year, they struggled because he had an ineffective trade made for Jason Kidd. All that did was lose your point guard of the future and give J-Kidd somewhere warm to spend his last days in the NBA (though I could see him playing well into his 60's). Avery Johnson is a talented coach. He learned from Greg Popovich (who must be doing something right. I think that for Cuban, losing Johnson is like losing Nash.

He can sign Flip Saunders if he gets fired from Detroit or go after another assistant coach (I would look for Terry Porter from the Pistons to wind up coaching somewhere in the near future) or offer some college coach a ridiculous amount of money, but it’s not going to matter. The teams’ problems aren't a coaching issue. Avery Johnson can't do anything about an owner who likes plying with around his roster (and the million dollar contracts of its players) like a fantasy team.

So until Cuban lets a GM do the work that they get paid and know how to do (well, as long as its not Isiah or Steve Kerr), expect this to continue Mavericks fans. Now Cubs fans, don't you wish that Marky-Mark had your payroll to play with?