Tag Archives: Mark Cuban

by | January 9, 2012 · 6:24 PM

The Dallas Mavericks visit the White House

The NBA champion Dallas Mavericks finally had their opportunity to visit the White House and meet President Barack Obama. Initially, the league did not schedule a trip for the Mavericks to visit the White House as the team was not scheduled to play the Washington Wizards in D.C. due to the shortened season. Mark Cuban would have none of that and arranged the visit.

Honestly, I cannot be unbiased about this moment, nor can I write about it in an even-handed fashion. This moment simply made me happy and proud. I have been a Mavericks fan since I discovered what basketball is and seeing the team standing behind the President is wonderful.

President Obama makes plenty of cracks about the Mavericks’ age, Jason Terry‘s Larry O’Brien Trophy tattoo, and Dirk Nowitzki‘s talent for singing. One of the best moments is when the President displays a bit of homerism saying that it will be the Chicago Bulls who he meets next year. Everyone involved was clearly having a good time.

On a side note, Ian Mahinmi got swag. Check out his plaid print shirt, bow tie, Black rim glasses, and black cardigan. Baron Davis and James Harden have been put on notice. Mahinmi’s hipster status is untouchable.

Video via PBT

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by | November 6, 2011 · 11:03 AM

David Stern issues Ultimatum to Union

Wednesday, bloody Wednesday

The latest round of mediation between the NBA, its owners, and the NBPA ended, after nearly eight and a half hours stretching into Sunday morning, the same way that every prior mediated session and talks have. There is still no deal. However, without directly referring to a proposed deal on the table as an ultimatum, NBA Commissioner David Stern did in fact issue one. A fact that was not lost on the union and its players.

Steve Novak of the San Antonio Spurs was one of  the first player to react using the term ultimatum on twitter, “U gotta love an ultimatum! How does basketball ever even get to this point?” He was not the only player to express his disbelief in the owners’ proposal, Tony Allen of the Memphis Grizzlies also tweeted after the terms of the proposal were made public last night, “57 53 49 : wow.”

The proposal that is on the table for the players to accept by the close of business on Wednesday, which Stern set as the cut-off point when the deal would be removed and the owners would again revert to their previous stance that the players should receive 47 percent of basketball related income and that a flex cap (read: hard cap) be in place, inches slightly closer to what the players have been asking for but does so in a way in which the owners proposal of a 50/50 split of BRI is the more likely outcome. Under the previous collective bargaining agreement, the players received 57 percent of BRI. As Allen referenced in the above tweet, the union has come down from 57 percent to 53 percent, then 52.5 percent and now is faced with close to earning just 49 percent of BRI.

Under the current proposal, which is a band deal, the players could earn between 49 and 51 percent of BRI. However, union attorney Jeffery Kessler, who was representing the players at the talks with union president Billy Hunter under the weather, along with Derek Fisher scoffed at the proposal. Under it the players would receive 50 percent of BRI with the ability, if league revenue grows at a projected four percent annually or further “significant growth” Stern said, to earn 51 percent of basketball related income. If revenues were to remain stagnant or decrease the players would earn just 49 percent of BRI. The reason Kessler flatly rejected the proposal is because “the proposal that this is a robust deal at 51 is a fraud,” he stated. Under the deal the players could not expect to legitimately earn 51 percent and that it would take “the wildest, most unimaginable, favorable projections and we might squeeze out to 50.2.”

“They came in here with a prearranged plan to try to strong-arm the players,” Kessler added. “They knew today they were sticking to 50, essentially 50.2. They were going to make almost no movement on the system, and then they were going to say, ‘My way, or the 47 percent highway.”

During the mediation the NBPA issued a proposal of a 51/49 percent split of BRI in which one percent would go towards benefits for retired players helping them with heath care, insurance, and pensions. This proposal was never addressed by Stern and the owners.

Where the two sides could also not make headway was the issue of the luxury tax. The proposed deal on the table would fine each team over the tax limit on a one-for-one amount for every dollar over the tax a team spends. That is down from their previous offer of a $1.50 penalty for each dollar over the limit. The union wants to see a 50 cent tax on the first $10 million over the salary cap limit and then raise it to one dollar after that.

What the league is proposing would make it difficult, if not impossible, for championship caliber teams to retain certain players under their proposal. This would adversely effect teams such as the Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, and Orlando Magic, and New York Knicks. In the case of Dallas, the reigning NBA champions, starting center Tyson Chandler spoke bluntly about this proposal earlier in the week as reported by the Dallas Morning News:

“With the collective bargaining agreement and some of the things that they’re trying to enforce, it would basically prohibit me from coming back,” Chandler told KESN-FM FM in Dallas. “It would take it out of my hands — and the organization’s — because it would almost be pretty much impossible for me to re-sign. I just think that can be the worst thing that can happen.”

“For years, the Lakers have been able to win championships and re-sign their players and keep them there so they can go out for another title,” Chandler said. “Now, to put that deal in place after we win ours, I don’t like it one bit.”

Mark Cuban, Jerry Buss, and James Dolan are probably none too thrilled with the potential ramifications of that scenario. But they are not the ones spearheading the move to limit the power of the players. However, teams just above the luxury limit will be given a reprieve under the owners’ proposal with their taxes cut in half.

Further, the two-sided disagreed on the length and money of the mid-level exception, which teams over the salary cap use to sign players. The players want an MLE that is worth $5 million for four years occurring every other year. The league’s proposal is $2.5 million for two years every other year.

Teams who are playing luxury taxes, the league insists, would also be exempt from any sign-and-trade deals like the one that sent LeBron James from Cleveland to Miami.

These hardline proposals from the league are the result of a few owners in small markets, which it was revealed this week are led by Michael Jordan. Hardline owners want to wrest the money-making power from the players and limit the ability of large market teams to willing spend beyond the cap to put together winning teams. The irony of Jordan leading the charge to clamp down on the players is that he is the man who embodied the move towards player control in the league. It was he that wanted more money as a player, it was he that the league bowed down to for a decade. During the 1990′s the NBA saw its highest ratings and ratings have almost come back full circle to those levels now. Yet, he is one of the owners strangling any potential growth the league could have seen this year. Strangling is a job for Latrell Sprewell, but he left the league long ago to feed his kids. Jordan’s position is understandable and his drive to constantly win and/or crush is opposition is well documented but a stricter set of regulations on the players and teams willing to spend is not in character with Jordan the player. He famously told Abe Pollin who owned the Washington Bullets and then the Wizards during the 1998 lockout, “If you can’t make a profit, you should sell your team.” How the tables have turned.

Now, the players have until Wednesday to decide whether to accept the deal, replete with the demands of the hardliners, that the league has proposed. It is not the deal that they want. It is nowhere close to what they will accept. Kessler stated as much after the mediation process ended and Stern singled out Kessler as the one who rejected the league’s offer.

This morning, Novak chimed in again on Twitter, “I was really hoping I would wake up and the owners were gonna say jk!U guys have already given us 200M a year! But no,I guess they want more.” Novak, a trillionaire in his own right, expresses the sentiment of just about every NBA player. They want to play but they do not want to kowtow to the owners demands. Now there are rumblings that a move to decertify the union are more than underway.

Union decertification, a step the NFLPA took early on during their lockout, requires 30 percent of players, about 130, to sign off on the idea. From there it would be another 60 days before a vote would take place for or against decertification. Boston Celtics’ forward Paul Pierce has reportedly taken the lead to decertify the union with many other players, including Deron Williams who tweeted, “I’ve been ready to sign a decertification petition since July? Can’t believe we are just now going this route! SMH,” and agents supporting the move. If the union is disbanded, which would require a favorable vote from at least 50 percent of the players, the players could then file an antitrust lawsuit against the league. A move to decertify could also give the players more leverage in the negotiations with the owners but it is uncertain just how anything will play out at this point.

Wednesday means nothing. It is just an arbitrary day that Stern chose before the league reverts its position back to what it was. It is merely a talking point for the media. The players have already rejected it. The owners have not changed their stance. They have not moved beyond the 50/50 split to meet the players. All this is, as it has been all along is a public relations war of attrition. There can be no winner in this lockout, yet that is what each side is angling for. Not even a Pyrrhic victory is attainable at this point. At the very least the lockout will grow uglier as it drags on. Small pieces of false hope are continually leaked from the meetings between the two sides. It is unclear why people believe them still. There is no hope. This is not even a tug of war. This is two sides hunkered down in their trenches prepared for a protracted engagement. It would be nice to have an NBA season this year, but at this point it does not look likely. Both sides know that and neither is willing to move with the owners more than willing to wait until the players surrender to their demands and because of that everyone has already lost.

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by | June 13, 2011 · 4:36 PM

Take Dat Wit Chew

Championship swagger

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by | May 5, 2011 · 9:11 AM

They Are Who No One Thought They Were

Take dat wid chu.

The city of Los Angeles is in shock and it is not because of a botched breast augmentation or one too many injections of Botox. No, it is because their team, the team they depend on so that they can be seen on national television, the Los Angeles Lakers are down 2-0 in a best of seven series with the Dallas Mavericks. Not only are they down 2-0 but the two games they lost were at the Staples Center. Right now the best thing the Staples Center has going for it is Youtube highlights of Blake Griffin, who just won rookie of the year.

This is the first time the two franchises have met in the playoffs since 1988 and the series has lived up to its billing, for one team at least. The Dallas Mavericks came back from a 16 point deficit in the first game of the series to win 96-94. This victory due to their extended bench which outscored the Lakers’ reserves 40-25. Phil Jackson was not overly thrilled about the developments in game one and went as far as emulating his star play in saying that he, and his team, was “worried.”

Kobe Bryant had said, after the Lakers game one loss, that he (I am paraphrasing here) was worried, and that the Maverick could beat the Lakers. Yes, Bryant is talking about the same Lakers that were a shoe-in to three-peat yet again. Bryant is also talking about the team with the most feared frontcourt outside of Dwight Howard. These are the Lakers, are they not? They are lords over the Western Conference (when the San Antonio Spurs are out of the equation), right? Who can possibly beat them?

The Dallas Mavericks.

Early on in game two, head coach Rick Carlisle set the tone. It wasn’t anything Marv Albert and Steve Kerr picked up on instantly, but it created an arena in which the Mavericks could operate on their terms.

Carlisle controlled the matchups. It was obvious to see from the start. When he went small and Dallas extended the lead, Phil Jackson was forced to adjust. Carlisle and Jackson have met before in the playoffs. Jackson got the best of him the first time they met. But, can one really say that when the team Jackson had before was a Bryant/Shaquille O’Neal team? No. That was the equivalent of Jordan/Pippen in 2000-03. It cannot be ignored, but it cannot be ignored in the same manner as Barry Bonds’ single season home run record cannot be ignored.

Phil Jackson and his Lakers had no answer in game two. Bryant provided and answer occasionally, but that was only to keep his team close. Close is never good enough, though.

The Dallas Mavericks played their tempo throughout the game. It would be easy to say that 40 of the 48 minutes were dominated by Dallas. The Lakers were lethargic and could not contend with a superior opponent. Los Angeles is not used to an opponent who can match them physically in the frontcourt. They have had a cakewalk to the finals the past few season. Now, they have a test. Now, they are losing.

Here at the Beef, especially this author, we love Ron Artest. However, we love him more in a pinstriped Indiana Pacers’ jersey than we ever could in purple and gold. In this series, he is little more than a distraction. The media will always want to remember him as the protagonist of the Malice in the Palace. That is not who he is any longer, though. He is still Ron Artest (and will potentially be suspended for game three), but Tony Allen has stolen his title in terms of defensive will and tenacity on the court.

Artest has become a non-factor  in this series. Who can he legitimately guard? Dirk Nowitzki can shoot over him and Shawn Marion can drive by him. He is out of place. The only player that he can flummox anymore is Peja Stojakovic and that is only because it is not difficult to defend a spot-up shooter. Yet, that is not to say that Stojakovic cannot get by Artest using the dribble. As he did so in both games.

Dallas controlled just about every aspect of game two. No, scratch that, they won the game handily and therefore controlled the game throughout. Even when the Lakers gained the lead, for the fleeting moments that they did, it did not appear as they had any semblance of control on the game. Dallas was making a statement, and that statement came from Würzburg, Germany.

Nobody in the NBA can guard Nowitzki. His off-legged jumper is something that will go down in the annals of NBA history as something that can never be duplicated. Charles Barkley said that when you guard Nowitzki you need a cigarette and a blindfold. Phil Jackson, Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, and Ron Artest have masked their eyes and are presently smoking. What Nowitzki has done would be incomprehensible had we not seen him execute his offense to perfection for the past 13 season. Even though we have seen it before, it is not any less remarkable and is still spectacularly difficult to defend.

The Mavericks have always been considered a soft, jump shooting team. Fair enough, they were. But ask the Lakers if that is what they are currently. Dallas has grown, not only in size but in toughness. Tyson Chandler has changed the mentality in Dallas.

Los Angeles’ lauded big men have met their match through two games in the Western Conference Semi Finals. Andrew Bynum has not played like the young, overhyped center that some mistakenly believed he was, but more like the young, oversized player who is not used to taking on a challenge equal in stature to himself.

Dallas has big men to match the Lakers. When Chandler is on the court, Bynum’s numbers drop. He has only averaged 12.8 points and has an efficiency rating of -7.2. That rating is indicative of the Mavericks’ defensive resolve thus far in the series.  It is not just Chandler who is giving Bynum fits, as he is no longer swiping at the ball and instead holding his ground and not committing the foul. Along with Chandler, Brendan Haywood has also stepped up to become an unsung hero of the playoffs for the Mavericks as well.

With Haywood on the floor, Bynum’s rebounding numbers drop from 11.4, in the two games, to 8.6. His overall efficiency sees a decline as well from 1.1 to -17.1. Added to that is the fact that, through this series so far, Haywood has been accountable for every block the Mavericks have recorded while he is on the floor. Mark Cuban paid the money for a two-headed beast in the middle and that beast is dominating the defending champions.

The Mavericks are still a jump shooting team, however. This has worked against them in the past, but not so far against the Lakers. Taking the ball into the teeth of the Lakers’ defense is exactly what Los Angeles baits their opponents into doing. The Mavericks are stubborn. They still remember that Don Nelson taught them (the ones he coached at least) that the best shot is a jump shot. Only this Dallas team does not rely entirely on it.

In the two games against the Lakers, the Mavericks have employed and offense predicated on ball movement. Sure, occasionally Jason Terry holds the ball for too long and is forced into a low percentage shot but the Lakers have yet to fully capitalize on such situations. Dallas knows that driving into the paint against the Lakers is folly to an extent. But they must do it anyway. It opens up passing lanes and, as game two displayed, it leaves perimeter shooters such as DeShawn Stevenson and Stojakovic open.Three-point shooting has been key for the Mavericks thus far.

When the Mavericks do capitalize in the paint it is with J.J. Barea. So far the Los Angeles has yet to check him. In fact, they never will. Barea’s speed on the court is something that no Laker can contend with. Shannon Brown will be a step or two behind him and wholly out-of-place in terms of defensive positioning. It is testament to Barea’s courage that he competes for the same ground  on the floor that Bynum and Gasol feel is their birthright to defend. Having Steve Blake guard Barea is laughable at best right now.

The Dallas Mavericks learned from Brandon Roy. Roy torched them and lead his Portland Trail Blazers to victory in game four of the opening round, thereby tying the series 2-2. People doubted the Mavericks’ resolve. Portland never won another game in that series. Now, Dallas is on a four game win-streak. Most everyone had them written off on six in the first round but , surprise, these are not the old Dallas Mavericks. This is a team who has won four in a row and three straight on the road. Doubt them no longer.

Yes, the Mavericks have been up 2-0 before, but this time it is different. This time there will be no phantom calls that Stern calls down to his minions. Oh yes, the Lakers will fight. They must and Bryant will spearhead their assault. But, what can they do at this point? They have yet to get a meaningful stop, they are getting out coached, and Nowitzki is playing as if his defenders were rag dolls. This is Dallas’ series to win. The Lakers, after years of coasting through the Western Conference Playoffs, have finally met their match. Dallas has stung the champs and Los Angeles will not recover.

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by | April 27, 2011 · 8:39 PM

League Greed

Sometimes marriage counseling fails.

Monday’s ruling in the NFL antitrust lawsuit could have a significant impact on the looming NBA labor discussions.

With U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson ruling that the NFL lockout is illegal, the NBA Players’ Union is ready to decertify if (read: when) the lockout arrives.  There are immense problems within the league’s financial parity that have led to this situation, but the threat of a lockout is the main threat that the owners have in order to corral the short-sightedness of the players, and the ruling is a prime example of how players’ have wrested control from the hands of the owners and the league itself.

The difference between the NBA and the NFL in this situation, is that the NFL is immensely profitable while the NBA, yeah, not so much.

Judge Nelson’s ruling essentially halts the NFL lockout, because while the players are not getting paid, they are still essentially under contract.  If this spreads to the NBA, there will be problems, because the way the NBA currently operates is unsustainable.  Small-market teams, like the Hornets and Kings (as well as the Sonics before them), are going extinct like it’s the end of the Permian period.  Revenue sharing, along with a hard salary cap, can help these small-market teams to make it through rough economic periods like we’re currently experiencing.

In comparison to the other major sports leagues, the NBA has been much more willing to allow franchises to suffer because of the dominance of the larger markets.  Even in baseball, which is devoid of a salary cap, smart teams are still able to turn profits with low ticket prices due to revenue sharing and support from Major League Baseball itself.

While the NBA seems to support the owners, David Stern truly only focuses on the larger market teams.  The largest problem, from the league’s standpoint, with revenue sharing is the money it would then take away from Stern’s golden franchises.  The commissioner has shown repeatedly that the success of the Lakers, Bulls, Knicks and Celtics far exceeds the success of the league as a whole.  The “superstar” franchises get preferential financial treatment, just like superstar players do.  The league is losing its smaller market teams, because it simply doesn’t care enough about them.

If Sonicsgate was as bad as it was, imagine adding the Kings, Hornets, Raptors, Cavs, Grizzlies, and Pacers to the list of small market teams to be contracted.  But the players’ (and most likely our generation’s) sense of entitlement is at least as harmful as the league’s preference.

NBA superstars are marketing items and are treated like gold.  After this past offseason, the “Summer of Collusion”, the league ceded even more power to the key superstars, and acted lopsidedly against the owners and even less-popular players.  David Stern smiled and threw up his hands at the Heat’s statements about planning to join forces years in advance, Mark Cuban was hit with that $100,000 fine simply for saying that he’d like for Lebron to play for the Mavs.  When Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul (imagine them both on the Knicks, cha-ching!) both requested trades from their teams, they were not fined, yet Rudy Fernandez was hit with a couple fines for saying he wanted a release from his contract because he was homesick (allegedly having family issues in Spain).

Take the money and run.

Take the money and run (or jog in Curry's case).

NBA players have salaries that eclipse that of their forebears.  Last year, Eddy Curry’s salary was equal to that of Michael Jordan’s combined salary through the entirety of his first three-peat.  In comparison, Curry’s played in 10 total games in his past three years, for which he has been paid $31,754,998.  For those playing along at home, that averages out to over 3 million dollars a game.  While much of that blood falls on the hands of the owners, it also shows how NBA salaries have exploded, far surpassing the increases in revenue.

The NBA has seen the profitability that a legendary superstar can bring the league through Michael Jordan, yet Jordan is unique.  As fans, we expect our teams to each have at least one franchise player, yet there simply aren’t enough people with the correct combination of both talent and determination available.  Then, typically, a team’s best player gets the tag heaped upon him and a fat contract that he will never live up to; here we have the Danny Grangers, the Andrew Boguts.  These players will never lead their team past the first round of the playoffs without an additional pseudo-franchise player.

Now, the ruling against the NFL’s ability to hold a lockout seems to give even more power to the players, setting a precedent that lockouts themselves can be deemed illegal.  To take away lockout threats is not dissimilar to taking away a worker’s right to strike, it is a vital threat to keep the players from ruling.

While we have to recognize that the players have their rights and freedoms to protect, the owners are their bosses and have to be the grownups.  They pay the bills, and the players should realize that without the NBA, most of them are simply unskilled laborers with 7-foot wingspans.  The league, the owners, and the players need to set aside their greed so that they might actually turn a profit.

- Travis Austin Huse. Contributing writer.  

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by | April 19, 2011 · 11:26 AM

Danny Crawford to Ref Game 2 of Mavericks vs. Blazers

Awesome!

When it comes to the Dallas Mavericks, referee Danny Crawford is as fair and balanced as Fox News. Over the years, Crawford has caught the ire of the Mavericks and their fans for good reason. It seems that Crawford is just a tad biased when it comes to calling playoff games that feature Dallas. Well, only if you believe in math and facts and whatnot. Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas ran the numbers:

The Mavs have a 2-16 record in playoff games officiated by Crawford, including 16 losses in the last 17 games. Dallas is 48-41 in the rest of their playoff games during the ownership tenure of Mark Cuban, who has been fined millions of dollars in the last 11 years for publicly complaining about officiating.

“Not saying a word,” Cuban wrote in an email when asked to comment on the Mavs’ playoff history with Crawford.

An NBA spokesman did not immediately reply to an email requesting comment about whether the league has reviewed the Mavericks playoff games officiated by Crawford or considered not using him in a Dallas series due to a record that is at least a statistical outlier.

Dallas has a six-game playoff losing streak in games officiated by Crawford, which began with Game 3 of the 2006 NBA Finals, when the Miami Heat rallied from a 13-point deficit midway through the fourth quarter. Crawford also worked Game 6 of those Finals, when the Heat won their fourth consecutive game to claim the championship. The Heat had a 71-49 advantage in free throws in those two games.

The Mavs have been called for 2.3 fouls per game more than their opponents in playoff games officiated by Crawford, compared to a nearly even foul differential in their other playoff games since 2001. Dallas has averaged 6.8 fewer free throws than their opponents in playoff games Crawford has worked. Opponents have an edge in free throw differential in the rest of the Mavs’ playoff games, but it’s only by a little more than one attempt per game.

It is clear to see that all the complaining that Portland Trail Blazer’s Head Coach Nate McMillan did after game one reached the highest levels of the NBA. Emperor Stern is sending in the right man to appease the folks from Portland. Congratulation, Nate, bitching and whining still works in the NBA. Even better, McMillan will not even have work over Crawford on the sidelines. The calls will already be there.

It is simply astounding that a professional sports league that values credibility continues to place questionable referee’s on the league’s largest stage. After the Tim Donaghy scandal rocked the league and he exposed how broken and biased the officiating was the NBA should have taken action to prevent in future situation where overt bias plays a role. Instead, the league and Stern, turned the other way, assured the fans that it was merely one individual to blame for the whole mess and that the system is not flawed let alone broken. Teams, players, coaches, and fans complain about officiating regularly. It is their right to voice discontent. The voices seem to be growing louder within the ranks of the NBA. They are met with fines to scare them into submission. Covering up or ignoring a problem instead of fix it always works out well in the end, right?

Numbers do not lie and the numbers that accompany Crawford and the Mavericks are compelling. So compelling in fact that they must have blinded the league. Until Stern and the league fix their problems with officiating and actually take quality and credibility seriously, they will continue to be met with harsh criticism. Stern can only fine those in the league, everyone else gets a free pass. Use it. We all want a better product on the court in terms of the referees. We do not want to see phantom calls ever again. The league must change but it is clear, with Crawford being featured in game two, that it simply refuses to do so.

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by | February 24, 2011 · 12:41 PM

Mark Cuban blasts the league… ethics and cash come into question

Mark Cuban is the only owner with the balls and pocket book to constantly criticize the league.

The league has come under direct fire for the first time since taking over operations for the New Orleans Hornets by a voice David Stern and company should know all too well.

Last night, before the Mavericks took on the Jazz in Dallas, Mavs owner Mark Cuban voiced his utter disgust with the situation in New Orleans and their trade with Sacramento.

Essentially, the Hornets traded Marcus Thornton who is earning $762,195 for Carl Landry who is earning $3 million.  The difference in salaries is $2.24 million, which New Orleans will be responsible for covering for the remainder of the season.  The Hornets, who are over the salary cap, acquired Landry due to a trade exception.

This wouldn’t be shady at all if we didn’t consider the situation that New Orleans is facing.

The NBA, Cuban and 28 other owners, took over the Hornets from former owner George Shinn on December 6.  The league funds the organization and set an operating budget.  Cuban is questioning why the team is taking on such a huge salary when they are already in such a cash bind.

“If New Orleans is taking back $2 million and the team is losing money and I own 1/29th of it, I’m going to go against the grain and say that’s just wrong,” Cuban said. “There’s no way, with their payroll, having to dump salary before they were sold to us [NBA owners]; now they can take on more salary while they’re losing money. That’s just wrong every which way.”

Cuban’s remarks are the first public remarks that have directly criticized the NBA and its dealings in New Orleans.  Earlier in the season, Lakers head coach Phil Jackson questioned the ethics of the situation but didn’t blast the league as Cuban did yesterday.

A lot of teams in the league were interested in Landry but not a lot were willing to take on that contract.  With a possible lockout looming in the NBA, this season’s trades have been fairly even.  As far as money, this has been one of the most lopsided.  The Hornets made the sweetest deal for Landry to a Sacramento team in need of another point guard with an injured Tyreke Evans.  Thornton made a name for himself last season when he filled in for an injured Chris Paul.

The league has yet to hand down a fine for Cuban’s comments but trust the Beef, there will be a fine.

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by | February 9, 2011 · 1:48 PM

Bob Ortegel, We Miss You Already

Simply the best

Waking up in the morning and being forced to catchup on all of the previous day’s events is nothing new. However, it is a wonder that this hefty piece of information slipped through the cracks yesterday. Here at the Beef we have lost someone who we grew up with. His endearing presence always made us smile. He will be missed.

Yesterday, it was announced that Bob Ortegel and the Dallas Mavericks have parted ways. Ortegel, you may not know if you are not familiar with the local broadcasts of the Mavericks, has been with the team for 23 years in various aspects but most notably as the television analyst and color commentator. That is where he left his mark and that is where he endeared himself to a city if not the entire Metroplex.

When the Mavericks played on national television, a rare occasion now, our televisions were always tuned into the local broadcast because of Ortegel. He stood by this team and kept the faith (to use a Tavis Smiley phrase) during the most dismal years in the organization’s history. The 1990′s were nothing fun for the Mavericks. I became a Mavericks fan around 1990 when I first was seriously introduced to the sport. I am still one to this day. The following decade was tough. Yet, Ortegel was there with us.

Now the Mavericks are staring down the possibility of an eleventh consecutive season of 50 or more wins. That is quite the turnaround for the little franchise that could not win to save its life. Ortegel has seen it all and he will continue to see it all, as he told Mike Fisher of DallasBasketball.com (you must read his piece), it will just be from his home instead of courtside.

“I promise you, I will not miss a moment,’’ Ortegel said. “I’ll be watching Mark [Followill] and the guys on TV, and I’ll flip over and listen to Chuck [Cooperstein], too. I will not miss a moment.’’

Ortegel’s last broadcast was on January 27 as the Mavericks defeated the Houston Rockets. Fitting that his last game was a win. However, he is never one to raise the victory banner too early in a game. On that night the Rockets gave the Mavericks a second half scare which Dallas was able to withstand.

It was Mark Cuban’s decision to remove Ortegel from his television spot, it is his team and he has the final say. Cuban stated, in an email to Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas, that the move was to “freshen things up and try some different things.”

Those “new things” are nothing new to Mavericks fans. Ortegel’s replacements are Derek Harper and Brad Davis, two former players from the team who are both currently active broadcasting Mavericks games. Davis currently works with Cooperstein on the radio while Harper does pre and post game coverage on television.

Ortegel was offered a job as the radio analyst, a position he held during the 2007-2008 season. However, “after some serious thought and discussion, I declined,” Ortegel said. Anyone who remembers his stint in radio knows that Ortegel is more suited for television than Davis, who swapped spots with him that year. He is more fluid and has a better feel for the flow of the game in conjunction with the broadcast. Plus, in radio there are no teleprompters to entertain the people at home with. Who can forget when Ortegel would draw on fans in the crowd?

He was let go to freshen thing up. Cuban has done a marvelous job breathing life back into a dying organization from the moment he bought the team. Generally, we do not question his decisions but we must question this one.

Having watched a number of other team’s broadcasts, there is no question that the teaming of Ortegel and Followill is easily one of the best in the league. This is not just a local bias, this is because many of the crews out there are not actually invested in the game they are watching. Nor do some of them even know the basic rules of the sport. It is simply astounding. Ortegel and Followill are dedicated and informed and anyone who has watched their work on the sidelines can see that right of the bat. They are professional in every way.

That level of professionalism that is always on display is what makes this separation as confusing as it is. In the minds of fans (who know the game, not the ones sitting courtside on their iPhones) Ortegel is as integral to the Mavericks as anyone of the players on the team.

As Mike Fisher puts it, Ortegel was “old-school” and “straight-forward.” Apparently that is not fresh in the eyes of the owner. However, that could not be further from the truth. Ortegel’s mannerisms do not simply appeal to an older audience. They appeal to everyone. Here at the Beef, we, including all of our friends, are in our mid-twenties. We stand by Ortegel and his professionalism. He is a breath of fresh air in a society that has taken to glamorizing individuals who seem to have little more than an eighth grade education or are actually in eighth grade.

Bob Ortegel stood above the rest in the field of broadcasting. He will forever be an iconic symbol of the Dallas Mavericks even though he was never a player. He did not have to be to solidify his role with the organization.

He left Mavericks fans with a positive parting message, “I sincerely believe that if this team stays healthy that they’ve got a shot at winning it all. Sometimes people don’t understand what that means, ‘a shot.’ If they stay healthy, they are in the conversation. That’s all you can ask. To have a shot.”

If the Mavericks do end up winning it all this year, or any year, one thing is certain, where ever Ortegel is at the moment the confetti falls from the arena rafters he will be beaming with joy with a smile from ear to ear.

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by | August 4, 2010 · 1:43 AM

The NBA releases ‘Marquee’ Games Schedule & Shaq to Boston

Future teammates?

The NBA has released its schedule…of ‘marquee’ games for the upcoming season. Sorry, Nets, you did not make the cut. Do not feel left out though, many of the NBA’s best teams were snubbed. This is yet another in the league’s attempts to drum up attention for itself during the summer doldrums. It would be more successful if there were not leaks that have led to many game matchups having already been reported by various outlets. Simply put, this is the NBA and David Stern at their pandering best. Hell, the NBA is accustomed to pandering so why would they stop now? It loves to showcase its preferred and anointed teams to a national audience even though many fans detest these teams but may like a player or two on them. So this year will be the year of the Miami Heat. It seems like they have the nationally broadcast game of the week nine times a week. Less than one tenth of the actual schedule has been released thus far and the Heat are the winners. (By the way, Miami plays in Cleveland on 2 December.) Stern loves to pander to ratings and the advertising revenue that it brings in above all else. He completely ignored claims of tampering in the Miami Thrice coup d’état but will now reap the financial benefits of having the trio on national television all the time. (And he says the league is losing money…) The only way that Stern would not have had the schedule arranged (I am well aware that he does not personally make the schedule but as the commissioner he has a say as to what teams will be spotlighted on certain days, i.e. Christmas Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and opening night.) such as this would have been if Mark Cuban had lured LeBron James to Dallas. Seems that if Cuban even breathes Stern is going to fine him or investigating him.

Ok, enough rambling about the flaws of the NBA and its commissioner. There will be plenty of time for that in the future. On to the games (that have been officially released).

Opening Night(s): 26 October

The first game of the national double-header will be those Miami Heat traveling to Beantown to face the Boston Celtics. By itself this is a good matchup between the reigning Eastern Conference champion and the team that some (*cough* Hollinger *cough*) think will win 70+ games. That sure is some billing, but there is something else that will be brought into the already loaded equation. According to a tweet by Stephen A. Smith, Shaquille O’Neal will join the Celtics today. He was right on the whole Chris Bosh and James to Miami so I am going with him on this one. Shaq will be a Celtic. “The Big TD Garden” or “the Big Leprechaun.” Shaq played with both LeBron and Dwyane Wade. He helped Wade to the most tainted ring in NBA history. Before the Shaq factor, the tag line being thrown around was about opposing big threes, but the story should have really been about Eddie House facing off against his former team. Who care if Shaq is in the last year(s) of his career, he still steals the story. (Really just wanted to jump the gun and write about Shaq as a Celtic so the rest will be light info. Read Marc Stein’s breakdown of the games for more information and analysis.)

The second game of the double-header will be the Houston Rockets at the Los Angeles Lakers. Clearly the first game will overshadow this one due to star power and time zones but this should be one to watch. Houston is good and Yao Ming should be back barring any serious setbacks in training camp. If Yao is back and healthy Lakers fans may get familiar with Theo Ratliff before they ever imagined they would. One key matchup will be between Shane Battier and Kobe Bryant. They are always fun to watch compete against each other. This will also be Ron Artest versus Trevor Ariza, but we are too over that to even bother discussing it.

27 October

Chicago travels to Seattle…er, wait, Oklahoma City to take on the very young, very exciting, and very lacking in the department of serviceable big man Thunder. Since the Bulls acquired Carlos Boozer this summer they should have the edge in the paint along with Joakim Noah mopping the glass. If the Bulls can slow Kevin Durant or Russell Westbrook it would be something. Derrick Rose should be taking notes during his time with Durant on Team USA.

Portland gets one of their obligatory appearances because of time zones in the second nationally televised game. Yet, they will be on the road in Los Angeles…facing the Clippers. The Clippers are rarely seen on a national broadcast and there is a reason for it. Expect this to be their only game televised nationally. Do not worry east coast dwellers, the game will be on so late you will not even have to watch the Clippers lose.

28 October

Ah, John Wall gets his first national exposure in the NBA…against the Orlando Magic. The Wizards have made some decent moves this summer in bringing in Kirk Hinrich and resigning Josh Howard and they should Beretta Gil back too but against the Magic, who have played in each of the last two Eastern Conference Finals, do not expect a coming out party for Wall or Washington.

Phoenix will travel to Utah in the Western Conference matchup of the evening. Both teams have had to retool at the power forward positions this summer after their former fours decided to head east. The Suns brought in Hakim Warrick and the Jazz traded for Al Jefferson. There will be a good matchup at the point as well with Steve Nash and Deron Williams squaring off.

29 October

Here come those Heat again. They will host the Magic in what is a tough, tough, tough first two games for Miami. Jeez, why can they not play New Jersey of the Wrath of David Kahns every game? Gee golly it just is not fair! By the time this game is over we should have a good idea of how vulnerable Miami’s interior defense is.

In the west the Lakers travel to Phoenix in what has become a classic regular and post season matchup. However, the Suns really do not have anyone to defend/piss off Kobe Bryant anymore so the rivalry has dimmed a bit.

Christmas Day

The NBA has put together a set of five games for this day. Can you guess one of the matchups? Wrong. If you said that the Heat would play the Lakers you are wrong. Miami will play Los Angeles in all five games! How do those schedule makers do it? First they will play a game at 4 am in Madison Square Garden, and then they will fly to Miami for another game, after that it is off to Chicago, then Denver and finally they will face each other in Los Angeles at the Staples Center. Phew! Incredible right? Boy, the NBA has it figured out this year. Bravo David Stern, bravo.

Actually the five matchups are between the Bulls who travel to New York to face the Knicks, followed by Boston at Orlando, then the aforementioned Lakers versus Heat in Los Angeles, Denver at Oklahoma City, and finally the Golden State Warriors (sans Nellie?) will host the Portland Trailblazers.

MLK Day

Chicago at Memphis; Orlando at Boston; Oklahoma City at Los Angeles Lakers. Blah, blah, blah. Really like the inclusion of the Grizzlies though. They should be a good team this coming season. Probably will be another case where if they were in the east they would make the playoffs.

Is anyone else starting to get tired of certain teams? The season has yet to begin and already the homogeneity is vomit-inducing. Can we not be treated to New Jersey vs. Minnesota? Ratings be damned! What about Toronto vs. Miami or Toronto vs. Phoenix? People would watch these games. Not everyone cares solely about ‘star’ players. Some of us like the sport for what it is and will watch any and every game we can. Speaking of which, more games need to be shown on ABC during the regular season. The cable monopoly has got to stop. The league needs to get the product out to the most people possible and the best way to do that is on network television.

Notable Snubs

Dallas Mavericks: Really no surprise here. Stern and the NBA have never shown love to the Mavericks despite the fact that they have been in the playoffs every year since 2000 and were the second seed in the west last year.

San Antonio Spurs: This team will probably still make some people’s lists as championship contenders when the season starts. They have won four titles and are methodical and precise. Oh, that’s right, people hate methodical basketball. Last time I checked, George Hill is far from methodical.

Milwaukee Bucks: Don’t you dare go to sleep on this team, NBA. This team is made to be a giant killer. They took the heavily favored Hawks to seven games in the playoffs last year and have only gotten better this offseason. With a healthy Andrew Bogut they will be the most dangerous team in the east.

Atlanta Hawks: They really did not do much of anything this summer other than resigning Joe Johnson to a giant contract. Good thing for the Hawks that during the regular season Johnson will play like he is worth it. Come playoffs however, a whole different story unfolds.

Sacramento Kings: If you watched them in Summer League play you know that DeMarcus Cousins is the real deal. He and Tyreke Evans should work well together. Add Samuel Dalembert and Carl Landry and you have the makings of something good.

Philadelphia 76ers: They acquired Spencer Hawes, Andres Nocioni, and drafted Evan Turner. Sure they had a bad year last season going 27-55 but injuries did not help anything. (Nor did Allen Iverson.) The previous two seasons the 76ers were just shy of making the playoffs so it is reasonable that they could get back to form.

New Orleans Hornets: You would think with all the Chris Paul chatter and trade demands that they would show at least one ‘marquee’ game featuring the Hornets. If they did we could see Darren Collison and Marcus Thornton, who cares about Paul anyway? “LeBron did it so I want to do it too, waaaah.” Boo-hoo.

Cleveland Cavaliers: This is a team that is the most spurned in sports history. However, they should still be a .500+ ball club. Antawn Jamison is more than capable of scoring points in droves and being a double-double machine. The addition of Ramon Sessions should help speed up the tempo, which is what Byron Scott likes, for them as well. They no longer are living in the shadow of one player but now we must see if they are living with his ghost.

The full 2010-11 schedule will be release on 10 August but it will likely be completely leaked before then.

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by | April 22, 2010 · 9:41 AM

Who Let the Dogs Out?

Good boy

“You think dogs will not be in heaven? I tell you, they will be there long before any of us.”

– Robert Louis Stevenson

Before last night’s game, All Dogs Go to Heaven would have been the favorite movie for the San Antonio Spurs based on their age and the comments of Coach Greg Popovich after game one. (Where frogs go after they die is anybody’s guess.) Popovich’s dog comment must have ignited a fire in some of his mutts. Maybe a threat of a trip to spend the off season with Michael Vick (sorry, I could not resist) if they continued to play this way but that is doubtful. All the Spurs needed to do was watch the film of their game one defeat to motivate themselves to play better and get out of the doghouse. In last night’s rout of the Dallas Mavericks they played hungry, as if they were promised a Milk-Bone or Snausages if they fixed their mistakes. San Antonio looked more like the scrappy team of dogs in Oliver & Company (This makes Tony Parker the poodle and Manu Ginobili the Chihuahua I guess.), who used team work to out hustle the Mavs, instead of a group destined for the great big dog park in the sky.

Richard Jefferson, who the casual observer might have thought had retired or was out with an injury all season because of his poor play, was the lead hound in the first half of the game. Jefferson was pivotal for the Spurs as they raced out early and never looked back. He scored 19 points on the night with 17 of them coming in the first half. For Jefferson, this is a great leap in production from his usual 10-12 points a game in the regular season and a giant leap from the four point effort that lost him his place at the foot of the bed in game one. In the second half of the game he all but faded into obscurity.

Jefferson was not reliable enough to be counted on down the stretch by his master. Dick Cheney would not have even relied on him to retrieve the face of his hunting buddy. No, in the second half with the Mavericks making a concerted effort to fill the hole that San Antonio dug in their backyard, Popovich turned to his oldest and most trustworthy blood hound. (Duncan is certainly a hound dog with all the crying he does, especially towards the referees.) The saying goes, “you cannot teach an old dog new tricks,” well, in this case who would want to try? Tim Duncan quickly picked up the scent of victory when he entered the game during the Mavericks’ push late in the third and into the fourth quarters. He scored 17 of his 25 in the second half. Duncan would not let up the scent until he found what he was looking for.

All night it seemed as if the Spurs mistook the basketball for a Kong or tennis ball because they chased it all over the court with the sole intent of fetching it. They out rebounded the Mavericks, 51-42. Of the 51 rebounds they collected 16 were offensive which led to 23 second chance points. This pack of mutts certainly knew how to get the ball last night, never wanting their game of fetch to end. Despite their top dog mentality, however, the Spurs could not hold off the Mavericks forever. Dallas kept making little pushes and runs to eat into the lead. Yet, with 1:48 left in the fourth quarter the Argentine Dogo nailed a three-pointer to seal the victory.

Popovich’s prize poodle came off the bench again and had 16 points to go along with eight assists which leads one to wonder why when starting point guard, George Hill continues to play like he is a puppy that has not opened his eyes yet. It is probably because there is no scoring bite coming off the bench unless Parker comes off of it. (That is exactly why.) Nonetheless, the Spurs were rewarded for their efforts in Dallas on Wednesday night and surely dined on the finest Kibbles ‘n Bits and Alpo that money can afford to celebrate. Hopefully all their barking did not wake the neighbors.

Perhaps the Mavericks should have heeded the advice of Geoffrey Chaucer who said, “It is nought good a sleeping hound wake.” San Antonio has a slight bit of history on their side, since 2003 they have gone 5-2 in series where they have lost the first game. However, last year in the first round when these two teams met the series had the exact outcome after two games with the Mavs winning the first and the Spurs winning the second. We know the outcome. The San Antonio Spurs are certainly not the Mavericks or Mark Cuban’s best friend. Nothing will change that. What will change is the scenery. San Antonio will now get to run and play in their own backyard, complete with a flowing sewage heap called a river, for the next two games. It will be up to the Mavericks to dig holes throughout it. Every dog has his day and Richard Jefferson and the Spurs hope it has not already come and gone.

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