The long business partnership between Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner now includes basketball.

Wagner has purchased a minority stake in the Mavericks.

Cuban remains the primary owner, decision-maker and face of the franchise.

"Mark runs the Mavs. I'm just there as a friend," Wagner said. "This is more support for what Mark has done. In five short years, I think it's nothing short of amazing what he's accomplished for the franchise."

Wagner, 44, declined to disclose his ownership percentage, although he described it as a "small stake."

At one time, Wagner and Cuban looked at buying several pro franchises. During the 2002-03 season, Wagner briefly explored buying the Stars from Tom Hicks.

The association between Cuban and Wagner goes back 20 years. The familiarity was reflected in Cuban's e-mail reply when asked about the Mavericks.

"Todd and I are partners in every other business," Cuban wrote. "It didn't seem right we weren't in the Mavs together. As far as his role, his seats are midcourt. So his primary job is to grab me if I ever make it that far."

The two founded AudioNet in 1995 as a way to listen to Indiana University basketball games and sold the company (renamed Broadcast.com) to Yahoo! in 1999 for $5.7 billion.