Mark Cuban and Steve Nash didn’t have the best relationship after the Dallas Mavericks owner let the legendary point guard walk away from the team and sign with the Phoenix Suns. Nash was set to thrive alongside Dirk Nowitzki in Dallas, but Cuban had other plans for his team, letting the Canadian go, which was a terrible mistake for him. Nash signed with the Suns, becoming one of the best players in his position in NBA history while he changed the game and cemented the foundation of the current NBA.
Cuban recently talked about that decision, regretting it but making it clear that there are no hard feelings between him and his former player. At the time, Nash didn’t want to leave Dallas, but Cuban told otherwise, letting the point guard leave freely and sign with the Suns.
Joining The Rematch podcast hosted by NBA veteran Etan Thomas, Cuban discussed this decision, revealing his regrets for not offering the guard all the money he wanted, which prompted him to take his talents to the Valley and join the Suns.
“That’s my biggest mistake ever. Not even close, my biggest mistake ever. He had been injured the year before and his minutes were declining, and our doctor was like, ‘He may have some issues.’ And coach [Don Nelson] was like, ‘He may have some issues.’ So we made him what we thought was a great offer, but then Phoenix came in and just beat that offer,” the Mavs owner said.
“I’ll never forget, because he called me up and he goes: ‘They offered me more than Mike Bibby,’ and Mike Bibby had just gotten a big contract. “And I have it down on this calendar at my office at the arena still, it says: ‘Nash: Mike Bibby Money.’
After that time, things changed for Cuban and Nash, and the player hated the owner for not offering the money he wanted. Fortunately, they could solve things, and now everything is cool between them.
“Nash hated me for a long time because of it. We’re good now.”
On @EtanThomas36's "The Rematch," Mark Cuban (@mcuban) said that he regrets letting Steve Nash leave the Mavericks to sign with the Suns.
"That's my biggest mistake ever. Not even close, it's my biggest mistake ever. Nash hated me for a long time because of it. We're good now." pic.twitter.com/diIn2vMZdj
— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) October 31, 2020
Still, it would have been good to see Steve winning the 2011 NBA championship with the Mavs, but that didn’t happen. Joining the Suns was probably the best thing that happened to Nash, though, as he and Mike D’Antoni changed the game in Phoenix with their 7-second-or-less offense that was adopted by plenty of teams in the 2010s. If it weren’t for Cuban’s reluctance to pay Nash, he would’ve never crossed paths with D’Antoni, and the league wouldn’t have changed so fast as it did.
Things happen for a reason, and this is a great example of that.
