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A few days after the Dallas Mavericks were ousted in the first round for two consecutive playoffs in a row, Mark Cuban wrote about the Mavs’ year in review on his blog. His post provides some fascinating insight into the making of the Jason Kidd-deal as well as the difficulty of making trades in the NBA.

The fact that professional sports teams are owned by billionaires clearly shows how money can provide people with a false sense of confidence. What I’m saying is that having a lot of money gives guys like Jerry Jones, Hank Steinbrenner, Al Davis, and Mark Cuban a reason to think that they are experts in whatever sport their respective team plays. Historically, the most championships are won by teams whose owners aren’t in the spotlight. Can anyone name the owner of the San Antonio Spurs? How about the Chicago Bulls of the ’90s? And do you really think the Kraft family has any influence at all on the Patriots’ trades, draft picks, and free agent signings? Although owners like Davis, Cuban, Steinbrenner, and Jones make their teams relevant through their willingness to spend, they often get in the way of those who actually earned their wealth through their knowledge of the game. It’s not coincidence that championship-worthy teams are run by owners who step aside for those who are more qualified to make the most important decisions. Just because Hank Steinbrenner is rich doesn’t mean that he knows more about baseball than Brian Cashman (i.e. Insisting that Joba Chamberlain should be a starter), and just because Mark Cuban earned biillions of dollars by creating complex computer software doesn’t make him an expert at assembling a professional basketball team. (i.e. Failing to re-sign Steve Nash in ‘04 and trading 25 year-old Devin Harris for 35 year-old Jason Kidd).