Is Mark Cuban, the billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks, good for the game of basketball (his passion, willingness to spend money, etc.), or is he bad for the game and an all-around annoying personality (crying about the refs, etc.)?

Feel free to weigh in with your opinion.

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"Even though I'm no more than a monster - don't I, too, have the right to live?" -- Oldboy (2003)

While he can be a bit annoying at times, I think he's an overall positive for the game. So many of these owners simply look at their teams as a business investment. While Cuban isn't trying to lose money, he at least seems as though he loves the game of basketball and doesn't look only at the profit margin.

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"Even though I'm no more than a monster - don't I, too, have the right to live?" -- Oldboy (2003)

Isn't Mark Cuban in trouble for insider trading? I saw part of his reality show about business once before I think. Not knowing him or about his career and the things he's accomplished I can't really say much but on TV he seems super annoying.

I like Cuban. You're right about his love of the game. I once heard that his internet broadcast software that he sold to the NBA for billions was invented by him so he could listen to Indiana Hoosers b-ball games on the internet.

The Mavs franchise is headed in the wrong direction, but they've had a nice run of 8 years or so. You can't really expect too much better than that, and I wonder how the fans would look at the franchise if they had been able to finish off the Heat.

Bad mistake trading Devon Harris for Jason Kidd. In my mind, Kidd gives them a second starter (along with Dampier) who is an offensive liability from a shooting/scoring standpoint, and he's ancient, so there's just not much present and not much future. Devon Harris isn't great, but he has shown he can regularly score 40+ points when given control of a team. Given that he's 10-12 younger than Kidd, they probably should have tried to develop him. You need a quick point guard in a conference with Chris Paul and Tony Parker.

Full disclosure, my reaction to the Kidd-for-Harris trade was: "Yeah, they might as well. They aren't going anywhere with the team as it is." But since I'm not a die hard Mavs fan, that was about the scope of my analysis, or my investment in the decision. I would expect the Dallas front office to analyze things a little deeper than that.

But, all in all, I like Mark Cuban as an owner and think, despite his sometimes outrageous behavior and obnoxious personality, he's a positive for the Mavericks and the NBA. Remember what the Mavs had to put up with Pre-Cuban and remember that he's usually criticizing David Stern's handling of the NBA, and I would say he's a far sight better than the old regime and that he's right most of the time about the NBA refs.