At least we can tell Mark Cuban gets it. He knows how to throw a party. Over the summer, he staged a weeklong extravaganza that must’ve been the greatest postgame party since Dean Cain ate a few weed brownies and dropped some funk in a Harvard alumni shindig. Then recently, Cuban gave his players the chance to design their own championship rings. When asked by Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd for between $150,000 and $200,000, per ring, Cuban didn’t even flinch. He knew it was a violation of rules – there goes David Stern again – and figured the plan wasn’t realistic. But I’m guessing if it was up to him, he’d have put together rings so luxurious, they would’ve made every other one from the past look like wedding rings. Read More »

“Our industry is akin to a G.I. jumping out of a helicopter in Vietnam. We know what hill we want to take. We have an idea how we are going to get there. But, you need to rely on your platoon to get it done.”

Dallas Mavericks General Manager Donnie Nelson was never a general for the U.S. military, but he knows something about creating a winner. Sports Illustrated and Yahoo! Sports both rated him in the top three of NBA personnel bosses during recent articles and the Mavs have posted 10 consecutive 50-win seasons.

“I can’t sit here and tell you that there is this magical formula to win an NBA championship,” Nelson tells Dime. “Certainly, if you’ve got superstar players, it certainly helps and sometimes that can seal the deal. But, there are all kinds of different ways to do it.” Read More »

Right after the NBA All-Star Break, I wrote a piece about how the Dallas Mavericks had to be considered darkhorse title contenders. And the second half of the season proved they were. From February 17 until the end of the regular season, the Mavs were 23-6, and finally had some swagger that Dallas had long been without. But what happened? After getting bounced by the Spurs, that makes it three out of the last four years that the Mavs have lost in the first round. So where do they go from here? Read More »

After Von Wafer parted ways with Olympiakos back in December, it was believed that the 24-year-old guard was going to sign with the Grizzlies. But after bringing in Ronnie Brewer last week, it appears Memphis is all set at the two-guard spot. That’s why it appears the Mavericks are ready to step in and make a deal. Read More »

The fans in Oakland must be getting restless lately. Every time that it looks as if Donnie Nelson has his boys playing better basketball (consecutive wins against Phoenix and Boston in late December), an injury – or angry teammate for that matter – halts the train. Most recently, Anthony Randolph’s severe ankle problems have forced the young forward to miss upwards of two months. So, expectedly, the main draw at Oracle is usually the opposing team. Read More »