Comparing Mark Cuban and Dan Snyder

On Pickled Hogs Radio last night, Ken Meringolo, Brian Mitchell and I were kicking around the notion of Mark Cuban being compared to Dan Snyder. Obviously, they both like free agency and spending. I generally have always disliked Cuban, if for no other reasons than the constant images of him yelling at refs as well as what appears to be micromanaging. I thought the comparison with Snyder was a good one, except for the fact Cuban has been to the playoffs every single year he's been an owner since 2000-not an easy accomplishment when you think back to how bad that team was.

After the jump are some Mark Cuban quotes on Dan Snyder's criticism from 2009 along with some rather interesting times the two owner have crossed paths before. 

Back to the radio show, BMitch chimed in with an excellent point:

BMitch: Mark Cuban likes everyone of his players. He doesn't show favoritism to certain players. That's the difference between him and Dan Snyder. If you're the last guy on the bench and your owner is showing you the love like Mark Cuban does, that last guy on the bench is willing to run through a wall. But if you have the owner dealing with a certain group of people and not everybody else, then you have more than half your team who could care less about the owner and it comes out in their play. That's the difference.

Umm...#26 certainly comes to mind with "favoritism," and BMitch's comments ring true to the poor play of some key players. Ken then had this to say: 

Ken: My main argument against this would be that an NBA roster is much smaller than an NFL roster, and thus easier for an owner to spread out his love equally. That said, Snyder has gone so far in the other direction over the years, lavishing his love and attention on individual players to the point where he flat out ignored and alienated most of his team. The lackluster effort that B Mitch refers to on the part of players who have felt slighted by the owner could be attributed to guys who have played for the Redskins I am sure.

Unlike Kevin, I have always liked Cuban as an owner. He has not only put his money where his mouth is in terms of bringing in talent, he has taken on the establishment that is the NBA. Personally, I can't stand David Stern. He strikes me as a bullying, smarmy rich dude that oversees a league that many fans simply don't trust. Cuban has come in, set up independent investigations on refs, the way games get called, the circumstances that surround the way games get called, and released these findings to the general public as well as to the league. He bleeds with his team from courtside-not in a three-piece suit, but in Dallas Mavericks gear. The lesson Dan Snyder could learn from Cuban-in my opinion-is that Cuban did ultimately change his style this season, especially as the season wore on and into the playoffs. While I don't think his being quiet was the reason that LeTravel was so awful in the Finals, Cuban's actions represented a respect for his team, his coaches, and the game in a way that positively impacted the "big picture." Dan Snyder could use a change in style. To some degree you could say he began that change last year, but who really knows? The fact that Cuban has a ring now should serve as a positive reminder to Snyder that all the money in the world, and even all the talent you could ask for is aided by actions that any/every owner can take...IF that owner is truly dedicated to winning a championship above all else. From a bird's eye view, it's pretty easy to compare Dan Snyder and Mark Cuban (before the Heat series at least).

Other Snyder-Cuban crossroads:

• Snyder attended Cuban's Super Bowl party this past year (pic).
• Cuban and Snyder made a 90's-riffic entrepreneurial DVD together (in awesome VHS quality).
• Cuban was on the Mike Wise Show in October of 2009 and had this to say on Snyder:

"I just think Dan wants to win so badly, SO so badly, that it sometimes comes across as meddlesome because they haven't won yet. If they had won--let's just say they had drafted the right quarterback, they had drafted Matt Ryan or whoever, the young quarterback coming out. And that's not to say that their current quarterback isn't going to get the job done, but the Redskins just haven't had that superstar at the quarterback position that I think can carry them. And if they had, you would hear less or talk less about Dan Snyder, and he would be the guy who transitioned, took over and did a great job."

And then there's this:

I didn't realize he was a Penguins fans. I knew my dislike was seeded somewhere. In all honesty though, I do like Cuban now. He's celebrating no different than I would and doesn't give a sh*t about what anyone thinks. Kudos, Mark Cuban.