DALLAS — Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has added some more perks to his team's menu.
Appalled at what he has seen in the past, Cuban has designed new chairs for his players to sit in during games at Reunion Arena this season. He also plans to install five-second clocks on the Reunion court to assist referees during out-of-bounds plays, and has hired a new deejay to play more modern music during timeouts.
Cuban said the new chairs will be equipped with gadgets similar to those in massage chairs. He also questioned how multimillionaire NBA owners would allow players ranging from 5-foot-3 Muggsy Bogues to 7-7 Gheorghe Muresan to sit in the same type of chairs.
"I think it's crazy that guys who are anywhere from 5-10 to 7-6 all sit on the same type of chair," Cuban said. "I don't know about anybody else, but if I'm playing hard and I'm tired and my muscles are tired, there are different types of chairs, and for my guys I want to put them in the best position possible.
"We're having special chairs specially developed that'll be patented and trademarked to us. We haven't decided if we're going to sell them to anybody else in the NBA, but we will sell them to other teams in college and high school, and we'll be introducing them shortly."
Cuban said the chairs will not be on the visitors bench at Reunion.
"We want to send a message (to opposing players)," Cuban said. "I want them to look and say,'How come they get that?' "
Recently, Cuban installed a VCR, DVD and flat screen TV in every Mavericks player's locker at Reunion.
"It's the simple things that just get people to know that you care, and it also creates the best financial opportunity," Cuban said. "Here's a business with the chairs that should have been done a long time ago, and that's a business opportunity for us to make more money."