Tag Archives: mark cuban

Business

Mark Cuban says many of his ‘Shark Tank’ investment deals are flops

Leave a comment

After 13 seasons on ABC’s “Shark Tank,” Mark Cuban estimates that he’s had about as many hits as misses.

Some of his on-screen deals have worked out great, he says. Others, not so much. Such is the risk of investing. But even when it comes to the ones that eventually left him scratching his own head, Cuban tells CNBC Make It that he has “no regrets.”

By Cuban’s own estimation, roughly one in four of his “Shark Tank” deals “have done really well or crushed it,” he told a local Denver ABC affiliate on Friday. “Fifty percent … have been good and continue to go on, and 25% where I just think to myself: ‘What the hell was I thinking?'”

One notable example: Cuban has highlighted the Breathometer, billed as “the world’s first smartphone breathalyzer,” as his worst “Shark Tank” investment to date. Cuban said he lost roughly $500,000 on the deal, after investing in the business in 2013.

“That was my biggest beating,” Cuban told CNBC Make It in July.

In total, the billionaire investor has struck more than 200 on-screen deals worth more than $61 million in his time on the show, according to a recent online estimate. On Monday, Cuban told Forbes that the real-life figure is closer to $29 million: Not all of the deals depicted on the show make it all the way to closing.

Cuban says his “Shark Tank” deals aren’t always solely about bringing in big financial returns. “I’m good with that with my ‘Shark Tank’ companies,” Cuban wrote on Twitter in July. “I don’t do the show to get the best investments. And I don’t always invest because I think I’ll make money. Sometimes my deals are purely to help someone or send a message.”

That’s why he doesn’t seem to mind not yet being in the black when it comes to his total investments on the show. In July, Cuban told the “Full Send” podcast that he’s taken a net loss on all of his “Shark Tank” investments so far. He later clarified that he meant “on a cash basis,” only accounting for the investments he’s already exited.

“I haven’t gotten out more than I have put in. But that doesn’t account for all the ongoing, operating businesses and their valuations,” Cuban told CNBC Make It at the time.

Deals that flop are an inevitability of investing, according to fellow “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary. “You make 10 investments, you get two to three huge hits. And it pays for the other seven [failed investments],” O’Leary told CNBC Make It last month.

Still, Cuban says he’s beginning to think about when he should step away from “Shark Tank” to focus on his own ventures, including the new online pharmacy Cost Plus Drugs.

“Part of me wants to quit,” Cuban told Forbes on Monday.

The investor didn’t offer any timeline for when he might depart the popular program, but said the show could likely weather his exit: “They’ll survive fine without me.”

Disclosure: CNBC owns the exclusive off-network cable rights to “Shark Tank.”

Sign up now: Get smarter about your money and career with our weekly newsletter

Don’t miss:

Why Mark Cuban called this ‘Shark Tank’ CEO who brought in millions ‘a great case for what not to do’

Barbara Corcoran to ‘Shark Tank’ start-up: This common mental mistake is ‘the biggest danger’ to your success



Read original article here

Sports

Mark Cuban has no hard feelings about Jalen Brunson’s Knicks move

Leave a comment

LAS VEGAS — If there are hard feelings between the Mavericks and the Knicks over Jalen Brunson, Mark Cuban did a good job of hiding any animosity. 

The Dallas owner had only positive things to say on Friday about the point guard who has agreed to a four-year, $104 million deal to join the Knicks. 

“Jalen earned the right to do that,” Cuban told The Post from the NBA summer league at the Thomas and Mack Center. “NBA teams always say, well, it’s a business when you trade somebody or whatever, and it’s a business. He earned the right to make a decision as a free agent. So he made the choice. More power to him. I wish him nothing but the best. 

“Jalen is a great basketball player. That’s why we wanted to keep him. The Knicks will love him; the city will love him. The thing about Jalen, you give him a task and tell him where to improve his game, he’ll work his ass off to do it. You guys got a good one.” 

Jalen Brunson
Getty Images

Brunson, 25, developed into a difference-maker with the Mavericks after getting selected in the second round in 2018. He helped Dallas reach the Western Conference final this year after a breakout postseason performance saw him average 21.6 points in 18 playoff games. 

When asked about reports of potential tampering by the Knicks, Cuban smiled. 

“That’s up to the NBA, that’s not my job” the owner said. 

The Knicks hired Brunson’s father, Rick, to join coach Tom Thibodeau’s staff, and team president Leon Rose’s son, Sam, is Brunson’s agent. 

Cuban also didn’t have a problem with Knicks executives William Wesley and Allan Houston, along with forward Julius Randle, attending an opening-round playoff game between the Mavericks and Jazz, which drew headlines at the time. 

“Oh, I don’t care. They can buy tickets,” Cuban said. “Being at a playoff game doesn’t change anything.” 

Mark Cuban
NBAE via Getty Images

Two other members of the Mavericks, coach Jason Kidd and former Knick Reggie Bullock, also discussed Brunson’s departure on Friday. 

“We can’t replace Brunson. He’s a great player,” Kidd said on ESPN. “I’m happy for him and his family, signing a deal in New York. It’s well deserved. We wanted him back, but he picked New York.” 

Bullock, who enjoyed a strong season with the Knicks in 2020-21 but wasn’t brought back, had similar positive things to say about Brunson. 

He did offer an interesting thought on him joining the Knicks, though. 

“That’s his problem, that’s him,” Bullock, who is close with Randle and Thibodeau, told The Post. He later said: “He’ll do great. Great off-the-court guy. … Great point guard, works hard, he’s going to lead them into the right direction.” 

Cuban declined to say if the Mavericks considered upping their offer to Brunson. ESPN had reported they were only willing to offer him a five-year deal in the ballpark of the four-year, $85 million deal Raptors guard Fred VanVleet signed in 2020. Brunson declined a four-year, $55.5 million contract from Dallas after the trade deadline, and now he is a Knick. 

“I’m happy for him. It’s not like he was just some guy, well, he was just a player, he got his money,” Cuban said. “He’s a good guy, man. He’s got a heart of gold. There’s nothing not to like.” 

Read original article here

Sports

Latest On Jalen Brunson | Hoops Rumors

Leave a comment

Point guard Jalen Brunson is scheduled to meet with the Knicks, Mavericks and Heat when free agency opens on Thursday, sources tell Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.

According to Haynes, the meetings will be held in New York, with the Knicks considered the strong frontrunners to land the unrestricted free agent on a four-year deal in the neighborhood of $110MM.

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, GM Nico Harrison, and head coach Jason Kidd will attend the meeting, per Haynes, as will VP of basketball operations Michael Finley and “maybe one or two” players, sources tell veteran NBA reporter Marc Stein (Twitter link). Stein reports (via Twitter) that the Mavs are very pessimistic that they can convince Brunson to re-sign, but the 25-year-old’s camp sought out meetings with the three teams before coming to a decision.

A league source tells Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News that the Mavericks have been unwilling to offer more than $106MM to this point, with Brunson reportedly seeking $125MM. Haynes confirms Bondy’s report, stating that Dallas has pitched a five-year, $106MM deal to Brunson, so it sounds like he might be open take a slight per-year discount ($125MM over five years vs. $110MM over four) if the Mavs are willing to go that high using his Bird Rights.

As Haynes observes, Miami’s only pathway to acquiring Brunson would be via sign-and-trade, because the team won’t have the necessary cap space to sign him outright. Such an agreement would be difficult to pull off due to sign-and-trades triggering a hard cap at the tax apron, which would limit Miami’s financial flexibility for the rest of 2022/23. That’s one reason why Haynes refers to the Heat as a “dark horse.”

Here are a couple more notes on Brunson’s free agency:

  • “At least one high-ranking member of the Knicks” views Brunson as a top-10 point guard in the NBA, Bondy reports. Given the huge offer the Knicks are reportedly willing to extend, it makes sense that Brunson has fans in high places within the organization.
  • In an appearance on “NBA Today,” ESPN’s Bobby Marks (video link) details why a sign-and-trade between the Mavericks and Knicks might make sense for both teams, assuming Brunson winds up with New York.



Read original article here

Sports

Mark Cuban’s Mavericks won’t play national anthem anymore

Leave a comment

Haven’t heard about any national anthem protests at Mavericks games? There’s a good reason for that: Dallas isn’t and won’t be playing “The Star-Spangled Banner” anymore.

Mark Cuban told The Athletic it was his decision to eliminate the tradition of playing the anthem before games. The move went by unnoticed through the first 13 combined preseason and regular-season games at American Airlines Center because the Mavericks did not publicize it, either within the organization or through an announcement to media. Monday marked the first game in which the Mavericks allowed a limited number of fans into their arena.

Cuban has been vocal about his support of those who wish to kneel during the playing of the national anthem, the practice which former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick began in 2016 and which became a lightning rod for partisan political debate.

The outspoken Mavericks owner told ESPN last July of the potential for his team’s players to kneel during the anthem: “If they were taking a knee, and they were being respectful, I’d be proud of them” and that he hoped he would “join them.” He later tweeted, in response to what he called “The National Anthem Police,” that if critics of the nonviolent protest of systemic racism in the United States took issue then they could “complain to your boss and ask why they don’t play the National Anthem every day before you start work.”

Mark Cuban
AP Photo/Ron Jenkins

Although NBA rules require players to stand during the playing of the anthem, commissioner Adam Silver has opted to overlook the rule in view of supporting his players’ decisions to express themselves.

“I recognize that this is a very emotional issue on both sides of the equation in America right now,” Silver said during a press conference in December, “and I think it calls for real engagement rather than rule enforcement.”

Read original article here