I’ll admit I have not tried to contact many others, but I have little doubt that Mark Cuban is the easiest-to-reach billionaire in the country, and maybe the world. Granted, I have met him before, when Tim Rogers and I spoke to him for the 100th episode of EarBurner. And I have traded emails with him over the years, mostly for stories about Dirk Nowitzki. But still, it should take more than one message and about eight minutes to set up a Zoom call with the governor of the local NBA concern.
The story I originally pitched to him—Mark Cuban for President! would have been the cover line—he had no interest in. But given how involved Cuban has gotten in helping out during the pandemic, and how he reacted during the Black Lives Matter protests—and how he’s handled himself in both cases—it’s not so far-fetched anymore that he is qualified for the job. I guess, given the past four years, qualifications for the job are kind of a moving target. Regardless, Cuban has come a long way from the guy who seemingly bought the Mavericks so he could play one-on-one with Dirk Nowitzki, and was cocky enough to think he could make it close.
The Mavericks are just about to start the strangest playoffs in league history, and there is no doubt that the NBA will be irrevocably changed after the four-month in-season shutdown. I’m sure Cuban will be one of the people shaping that change. For now, he is still dealing with the events of the last few months. For more on that, here is my cover profile from our August issue.
