DALLAS -- The NBA tried ruining Mark Cuban's first
anniversary as owner of the Dallas Mavericks by fining him $250,000
Thursday for taunting officials and practically daring the league
to punish him.
|  | | After being fined three times for a total of $45,000, Mark Cuban was hit hard by the NBA on Thursday with a fine of $250,000 for being critical of officials.
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But Cuban won't even allow one of the largest fines in league
history to spoil his fun.
"I think it's great," he said. "There is no way we could
spend $250,000 to get this type of promotion for the Mavs.
"The articles will be mostly the same: `Mark Cuban was fined
again, crazy guy, but the Mavs are playing well and are in the
playoff hunt.' And tons of people will buy Mavs merchandise and
more will come to the games -- just like the last time I was
fined."
In a one-sentence statement, the NBA said only that the dot-com
billionaire was being punished "for his outbursts and actions
concerning game officials" following Dallas' 107-104 loss to
Detroit on Wednesday night.
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Easy Money
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Mark Cuban has thus far been fined $295,000. Another $25,000 and Cuban's fines will equal or better the season salary ($320,000) of more than 30 NBA players, including the Lakers' Mike Penberthy, the Nets' Stephen Jackson and Cuban's own Eduardo Najera. Two seasons ago (1998-99), the NBA minimum was $287,500. If Cuban still had his $295,000, he could buy about 1.1 million 1993-94 Fleer Shawn Bradley rookie cards.
--Darren Rovell, ESPN.com
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While the fine is nowhere near the $3.5 million levied against
the Minnesota Timberwolves for their secret deal with Joe Smith,
it's a huge amount for this type of behavior.
Dennis Rodman, a former Cuban employee, was fined a total of
$193,500 in his rambunctious career, the most being $50,000 for
disparaging the Mormon religion. Charles Barkley's biggest hit was
$20,000.
Cuban was socked not because he can afford it, but because he's
a repeat offender.
This is the fourth time this season he's been punished for the
same thing. The previous fines came in an eight-day span in
November and totaled $45,000. His total tab of $295,000 comes out
to more than $800 for every day he's owned the team.
Cuban said he won't appeal. He also hinted that he might not
stop.
"I haven't received a negative e-mail yet from fans, and that
is what matters most," he said.
In his latest scrape, Cuban was irate that goaltending was not
called against the Pistons after a missed shot by Dallas' Steve
Nash that would have tied the game at 106. A replay showed that a
Detroit player's hand touched the rim with the ball in the air.
Cuban had the replay frozen on the JumboTron and brought
together photographers to take pictures of it.
"The refs were pitiful tonight and I don't care if I get
fined," Cuban said. "We're going to find out what the rules are
and protest the game."
He also accused official Tommy Nunez of trying "to take over
the game."
"If a guy can't look at a replay and see it was goaltending,
that's ridiculous," he said.
Team captain Michael Finley said officials told him goaltending
was not called because the shot had no chance of going in.
About 1 1/2 hours after the NBA announced the fine, the Mavericks
followed through on Cuban's plan to protest against the non-call.
Their statement gave no further details or comments.
Cuban, who became a billionaire in 1999 when the company he
co-founded, Broadcast.com, was bought by Yahoo!, has said the
league needs to monitor officials better. He claims to have charts
showing how his team has been treated unfairly.
Fearing more retribution against his team, Cuban promised to
clean up his act after his third fine.
He left a road trip, then began sitting in the upper deck for
home games, at first saying it was to avoid getting into trouble
then keeping it up because he enjoyed it.
Cuban went from season-ticket holder to owner exactly a year ago
Thursday when he agreed to buy the team from Ross Perot Jr. He was
approved several months later although some owners were wary of his
involvement, which includes working out with the team and traveling
with them.
Cuban has lavished players with electronics-filled lockers,
ultra-soft towels and even custom-made courtside chairs. He's
redesigned the team's logo and thrown in the maximum $3 million to
complete trades.
His most radical move was signing Rodman and letting him live in
the guest house of the owner's home. The league nixed that
arrangement and Rodman was released after 29 days, two ejections,
one suspension and $13,500 in fines.
His energy and enthusiasm have helped revive one of the league's
most dreadful teams and made him a local celebrity.
He's further endeared himself to fans by absorbing all service
charges and handling fees on tickets, and by buying tickets for any
fans who travel to road games and paint their faces with the team's
colors.
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ALSO SEE
NBA fines Mavs owner third time in eight days
AUDIO VIDEO
 Mavs' owner Mark Cuban talks with ESPN's Chris McKendry about his $250,000 NBA fine.
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Mark Cuban says he couldn't have spent $250,000 more wisely. (Courtesy: TSN)
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Mark Cuban tells how he was informed by the NBA that he was going to be fined.
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Mavericks owner Mark Cuban on where his energy comes from when reacting to officials.
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