Back to January 2000. Cuban says he was connected to Perot through former Maverick Mark Aguirre, a close friend of Perot’s right-hand man (and at one point interim Mavericks GM), Frank Zaccanelli. Perot had purchased the Mavericks in 1996 from founding owner Donald Carter. Cuban recalls that negotiations with Perot, such as they were, took less than 15 minutes. Perot named his price. Cuban said yes. That wasn’t even the most memorable part of the courtship. “Ross took me on his helicopter,” Cuban says, “and I’m terrified of heights. It was the first time I was on a helicopter and the last time I’ll ever go on a helicopter.”