Mark Cuban Might Bid on Dodgers

This offseason we have not only been looking to fill holes in the roster, but we are also looking at prospective owners. NBA Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is planning on participating in the bidding process for ownership of the Dodgers which could begin soon.

The investment bank handling the sale will provide a “bid book” to interested parties. There is confidential financial information contained within the bid book. Mark Cuban has interest in purchasing the team, but does not want to pay the $1 billion price that Frank McCourt reportedly is seeking.

Cuban is a 53-year old businessman and investor. He owns the NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks, Landmark Theatres, Magnolia Pictures, and is chairman of the HDTV network HDNet. It is reported that Cuban has a net worth upwards of $2.5 billion.

Raised in a Jewish family in Pennsylvania, Cuban received his Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Indiana University. In the 1990’s Cuban up started and sold two companies. MicroSolutions was sold to CompuServe for $6 million, and in 1999 during the dot com boom, his company Broadcast.com was sold to Yahoo! for $5.9 billion in Yahoo! stock.

On January 4, 2000, Cuban purchased a majority stake in the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks for $285 million from H. Ross Perot, Jr.  In the 20 years before Cuban bought the team, the Mavericks had a winning percentage of 40% and a playoff record of 21–32. In the ten years following Cuban’s purchase of the Mavs, the team won 69% of their regular season games and reached the playoffs in each of those seasons. The Mavericks playoff record with Cuban is 49-57. They reached the NBA Finals in 2006 for the first time in team history, but they lost to the Miami Heat. On June 12, 2011, the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Miami Heat to win the NBA Finals for their very first NBA championship.

Cuban has drawn fines for criticizing the referees and league. He often sits by the bench, and is spirited in his reactions during games often yelling at referees and players.

No owner is going to be perfect, and Cuban’s fiery personality would be a change from the somewhat conservative nature of the Dodgers. Yet anyone other than McCourt sounds pretty good right now. Maybe we need someone like Cuban to help the Dodgers reach the World Series again and help bring the championship back to the long awaiting fans in Los Angeles. He turned the Mavericks around, and maybe he can utilize some of his business skills to replenish this bankrupt team and at the same time preserve Dodger tradition.

Don’t forget to take our poll, and let us know who you would like to see buy the Dodgers. We will keep you  updated with the sale proceedings including the bidding process. We will soon be closing the chapter on the McCourt era Dodger fans. Go Blue!