It happens to the best of them. Resident rebel, bad boy, renegade rabble rousers ride a wave of attitude to stardom and riches. Of course, after a certain amount of time in the spotlight, the renegade begins to raise less of a ruckus and slowly conform to the image of what he so energetically fought against.
In movieland, Robert De Niro earned his chops playing hard-nosed tough guys in his early years and now moonlights as much more mellow comedic actor. In the sports world, “Big” George Foreman was known as a surly, moody destroyer in his heyday, only to pass the torch to the menacing Mike Tyson to become more well-known as a smiling, loveable grill salesman.
Tyson is now beginning to embrace a more-loveable personality in his own right, but that’s another story.
The NBA is currently witnessing a passing of the bad guy torch. Actually, passing may not be the best word of choice. This may be more of a wrangling. Mark Cuban, the tenured maverick Maverick’s owner is currently getting out-Cuban’d by the new kid on the block – Mikhail Prokhorov.
For years Cuban was simultaneously the most beloved and hated owner in the league. Critics hated his casual, courtside approach, micromanaging ways and universal lack of restraint when it came to being critical of officials and owners alike. Fans loved his free-spending, player rewarding, win-at-all-costs attitude.
But over the years, the billionaire has become more frugal in his spending habits, first foolishly refusing to give Steve Nash a big contract extension in 2004 and more recently letting defensive anchor Tyson Chandler walk via free agency in 2011 to save up money to entice Dwight Howard and Deron Williams to sign with the Mavs this summer. The “old” Cuban would’ve tried to sign them all, salary cap/luxury tax be darned. While Cuban is still more vocal and susceptible to fines than the average owner, he sticks out less and tends to blend in more now than ever.
On the opposite side of the fence, the Brooklyn Nets majority owner Mikhail Prokhorov sticks out like a sore thumb. Besides his towering 6’8” frame, Prokhorov possesses the same brash, self-confident, in-your-face traits that made Cuban such a polarizing figure. Only where Cuban is truly a jeans and t-shirt loving geek at heart, Prokhorov is more of the cool, power-broking playboy type – designer suits and all. He’s the type that generally gets his way, and when he doesn’t, he makes a new way, as evidence by him starting his own political party in Russia.
Of course, on the court results is really what matters. After purchasing the floundering Mavs in 2000, Cuban’s team has now reached the playoffs for a team-record 12 straight seasons, including a world title in 2011. But with only two key contributors remaining from the title squad (Dirk Nowitzki and Shawn Marion), the current team is closer to missing the playoffs than competing for another world title. While Cuban has quietly improved the Mavs by adding O.J. Mayo, Darren Collison, Elton Brand and Chris Kamen this summer, the upgrade is a far cry from the dream scenario of adding Williams and Dwight Howard.
The Brooklyn Nets have been terrible for several years. Yet in one fell swoop, the team’s new owner relocated the team from New Jersey, drastically altered the team colors and put together a squad that won’t win many awards for being fiscally responsible, but should immediately turn them into a playoff contender.
In addition to convincing superstar point guard Deron Williams to shun Cuban’s catcalls to return to his hometown, the Nets re-signed Gerald Wallace, Kris Humphries and Brook Lopez, traded for six-time all-star Joe Johnson. They also desperately tried to pull off a deal to land Howard before giving up (for the time being) due to complications on the Orlando side.
Prokhorov also joked back in April that if Williams chose Dallas over Brooklyn, he would “crush [Cuban] in a kickboxing throwdown.” It was a light, friendly gesture from one billionaire bad boy to another.
But make no bones about it, Prokhorov and his Nets are here to stay. In the words of possibly the most acclaimed bad boy character of them all, Cuban and the remaining NBA owner should prepare to “say hello to the bad guy.”
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