Mark Cuban has done a terrific job as owner of the Dallas Mavericks. When he took over, the Mavericks were dead in the water. With his upbeat attitude and willingness to spend money, he breathed life into the franchise -- from Don Nelson to the players to the office staff to the ball boys.
Cuban also does a great job supporting his team without involving himself in the coaching aspects of the game. That is a fine line that few owners recognize. While he is a large presence, Cuban doesn't get in Nelson's way.
However, regarding his constant criticism of the league office, especially about officiating, anyone could find room for improvement. That's true about everything, not just officiating. But the level of officiating in the NBA is very high.
Cuban likes to cite situations -- like, for instance, player A traveling when he comes to a jump stop and then taking a step. Or Cuban has said that Shaq goes over the free-throw line before his shot hits the rim. There are occasions when both occur. In fact, they may even happen to some of his players.
The league is aware and takes great pains to make sure that the officiating is done as well as possible. The league videotapes every game, and the officials look at videotape before each game. They have observers and supervisors who carefully watch the quality of officiating. Officials get fined the same as players when they make a mistake.
I don't see anything wrong with Cuban or anyone else occasionally calling the league office and saying, for instance, team A is violating the defensive principles as far as being in the lane three seconds. Or player A looks like he is too physical in establishing post position. He could send a videotape to illustrate his points.
As either a player or coach, I have never been involved in a game where the officials determined the winner or loser, and I'm talking about thousands of games. It serves no purpose to be constantly badgering the league office in public about the quality of officiating.
The league would rather have him come to them with a criticism in an appropriate, private fashion. If everybody keeps criticizing parts of the game through the media, it sends the wrong message to the public. Now the public thinks the NBA officiating is bad when it isn't. The league has the top officials that officiate the game anywhere in the world. Cuban's interest in his team would be better served if he just followed protocol.
The exorbitant fines don't bother him. Cuban seems to take pride in them. He has enough money so that the fines don't make a big difference, but I don't know if he has a purpose, if he publicly airs his criticisms in order to draw a fine. What good does that do?
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