Mark Cuban is now a veteran NBA owner, purchasing the Dallas Mavericks 17 years ago. Since Cuban bought the Mavericks, 16 of the 30 teams have changed ownership hands.
When Cuban arrived in the NBA, he was a younger owner with a set of ideas that disturbed their status quo. Cuban frequently engaged in attention seeking behavior (Google: Ed Rush, Dairy Queen) while also helping to modernize their business such as making the conditions for players significantly improved.
"It was a whole lot more fun when I was the young guy screwing everything up," said Cuban. "But (the establishment) listened to me and I guess I molded them into what I wanted (laughs). So now that there’s nothing new to change and I don’t have any reason to complain, it’s all good. I didn’t adapt to them, they adapted to me. I was a bully, my way or the highway."
The Mavericks started the season slowly but have rebounded to compete for a playoff spot.
"We’ve basically gone through a rebuild in one season," said Cuban. "It’s a credit to Rick (Carlisle, the Mavericks coach) but also everyone on this team. There’s still a lot more to do. Nobody’s writing us in for The Finals this year. Our guys really worked hard, as hard or harder than any team in the league. Look at Miami. They’ve undergone a lot of changes too, much like we have, and they just play harder. I remember the Celtics after they traded off Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett and they tried to find themselves and they did that by playing their asses off. That’s who we are now. Teams kind of look at our talent and don’t know what to expect but it’s hard to keep up with us when you go 15 deep with guys playing hard. It’s our calling card. I love it."