It wouldn't be a proper farewell from departing NBA commissioner David Stern to outspoken Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban without a hefty fine.
So, perhaps for old time's sake, Cuban berated the officials on the court after the Mavericks' 129-127 loss to the Clippers last week. A few days later he was fined $100,000 by Stern for "confronting the game officials on the court after the conclusion of the game and directing inappropriate language to them."
Cuban, who has now been fined nearly $2 million since buying the Mavericks in 2000, didn't seem too concerned with his most recent punishment.
I couldnt let the commish go without a proper farewell. Its been a fun 14 years of trying to create change and donating to the donut fund !
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) January 19, 2014
In November Cuban said he would like to earn the final fine of Stern's tenure, and with the commissioner retiring on Feb. 1, Cuban may just have done that.
This is the last of a string of notable fines for Cuban. In 2002 Stern docked Cuban $500,000 for saying he would't hire then-NBA head of officiating Ed Rush to manage a Dairy Queen. Four years later Cuban was fined $250,000 for his behavior during the 2006 NBA Finals.
