Mark Cuban Wanted To Thank J.J. Barea So He Signed Him to a $2.6 Million Guaranteed Contract, Fully Knowing The Mavs Would Release Him A Week Later

Getty Images.

What a move here by Mark Cuban. You can add this to the list of reasons why he's the absolute best. I'm not just talking about the best owner in the NBA, I'm talking all of sports. Cuban gets it. Whether it was committing to pay all his employees during the hiatus, actually spending money to build a contender, having huge balls to trade up for Luka, the man is flexing on basically every owner out there. Everything you would want as a fan for your owner to do, Cuban does for Mavs fans.

Is $2.6M a big deal? Most definitely not. I'm pretty sure Cuban has that under his pillow. But it just goes to show how loyal this dude is. He was loyal as shit to Dirk, to this day openly talks about how he fucked up by trading Nash, and now he's taking care of J.J. Barea when he absolutely has no reason to. Knowing that he was probably going to get cut but still giving him that deal regardless of what it meant of his team's cap sheet is pretty cool. Let's not forget, J.J. Barea outplayed LeBron James in an NBA Finals.

That was almost 10 years ago! You think Cuban cares? You play that big of a role in the only title in franchise history, Cuban is going to take care of you for life.

But if you will, allow me to put the tin foil hat on for a second. While I do think Cuban is doing this because he loves Barea like a son, there are also additional benefits. You know who is going to have a shit ton of cap space in 2021? The Mavs. You know who they want? Giannis. Or really any other big fish to come play with Luka and Porzingis. Well at a time where players care about franchises and their loyalty, it doesn't get much better than this right? It's hard to make your franchise look more appealing. The Mavs already have the generational talent in Luka, they are poised to be contenders this year, and now Cuban is showing the world that if you win here, you're taken care of for life. That has to be pretty damn attractive to any big free agent out there. Add in the no income tax angle and I'm going to say it right now. The Mavs are going to land a big fish. It might not be Giannis, but someone you would consider a blue chip player that hits the market is going to go there and play for Cuban. 

Always one step ahead, that's basically the best way to sum up Mark Cuban. What a legend.