NBA Special: The eerie silence of Dallas Mavericks’ owner Mark Cuban
Anyone who knows Mark Cuban also knows that the man likes to speak his mind and doesn’t mind to ruffle some feathers in doing so. The Dallas Mavericks owner is one of the most colourful personalities in the NBA. Ever since he took
over the Dallas Mavericks back in 2000, he has been raining down sound bites all over the place. Dallas have also emerged as a major force under him, qualifying for the playoffs every season and going to the NBA Finals in 2006.
In a league where owners usually take a passive role, Cuban has been at the forefront of his franchise. His antics have brought the Dallas Mavericks to the limelight often and despite incurring huge fines from the NBA for haranguing
referee’s and players alike, Cuban has never, ever, shut up.
Until now. And the strange thing is that it’s not because of a warning from the NBA.
Nobody’s actually sure why he has gone off the media radar. Maybe, he has finally realized that verbosity is of no use, maybe he thinks he shouldn’t be hogging the spotlight any more, or maybe he just doesn’t have the energy or
will to speak out anymore.
Whatever the reason is, Mark Cuban has been uncharacteristically quiet since the Mavs got past the first round of the playoffs. What is even more bewildering is that he picked the series against the Los Angeles Lakers to disappear
from the scene. A plethora of quotes were expected from Cuban, we all know and some love in that series. His silence considering the fact that his team swept the NBA champions has certainly raised some questions.
It was not like he didn’t have a reason to speak up. Cuban already had a go at Ron Artest during the regular season. He also had a verbal match with Lakers coach Phil Jackson, whom he referred to as a “boy toy”.
The cheap shots from the Lakers towards the end, like the one by Lamar Odom on Nowitzki when he got ejected or when Artest met the same fate for fouling Jose Barea, would have drawn plenty of vicious comments from the fiery Mark
Cuban. And I believe he almost certainly will, at some point, have something to say about the disgusting elbow Andrew Bynum threw at Barea.
So far however, he has said nothing. He avoids the cameras or says trivial stuff if a journalist manages to catch him. It has to be something his decided not to do. There is no explanation, although when specifically asked if he
was keeping quiet for a reason, Cuban replied with a “nope”.
But Cuban is still Cuban on the court. He’s still pumped up, he is still up and down, and he’s still the main cheerleader for his team. He even jawed with Bryant during the series, and joined in with the players in shaking hands
with the retiring legend Phil Jackson. His involvement in that sense has not waned, but his love affair with the media seems to be on hold.
Dirk Nowitzki, the longest serving player under Mark Cuban, thinks the new silence is a good thing, "It should be about the players, never about the owner," Mavs superstar Dirk Nowitzki said. "We played a great series (against
the Lakers), we fought hard and battled and that was fun. I haven't really seen Mark since then and that's probably a good thing. It's fine."
Maybe it is. How long it lasts however, remains to be seen.
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