NBA's Cuban says he's open to No. 2 spot - with Trump or Clinton

Mark Cuban, the billionaire entrepreneur and NBA team owner, expressed interest Sunday in the No. 2 spot on a presidential ticket -- and said he could play at either end of the court.

Cuban, who is also known as one of the savvy investors on the television show "Shark Tank," said on NBC that if asked to join a fellow reality-TV star, Donald Trump, on the Republican ticket, he would consider it.

"I'd be, like: 'Okay, Donald. That's great. Let's talk about it. But we're both going to have to dig in and really look and understand the issues so we can come up with solutions.'"

But Cuban, who is 57, also told a "Meet the Press" interviewer that if approached by Hillary Clinton about a spot on the Democratic ticket, he would "absolutely" entertain the idea, though "she would have to go more to the center."

As a young man, Cuban worked as a bartender and disco dance instructor before building his fortune in software businesses in Texas.

He purchased the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association from another Texas billionaire, H. Ross Perot, and has guided the team from mediocrity to success.

Cuban has left a somewhat more eclectic trail in the political scene.

He declares himself to be "fiercely independent," though he is said to lean toward libertarianism. Like Trump -- and many other big businessmen -- he has donated to politicians of both parties.

In 2008, he used his blog to urge then-New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, then an independent, to run for president, before eventually voting for Barack Obama.

In the NBC interview Sunday, the colorful Cuban expressed mixed views of this year's presumptive Republican candidate.

He said the prospect of a President Trump was "scary to a lot of people" and said the New Yorker often seemed to offer proposals "based off the last person he talks to."

But he also gave a hat tip to Trump for having "opened the door to non-traditional candidates, which is a great thing."

Clinton, appearing separately on NBC, said she appreciated Cuban's "openness" to the position. Then, in a remark that clearly seemed to target Trump, she added, "Successful business-people who are really successful, as opposed to pretend successful, I think have a lot to offer."

She said that, if nominated, she planned to look "far and wide" in her search for a vice president.

Cuban and Trump have jousted in the past. After Hurricane Sandy devastated large areas of the northeast US in 2012, Cuban challenged Trump, in a Twitter exchange, to donate $1 million to storm victims.

Cuban then said he would donate the money himself to a charity of Trump's choice if Trump -- famous for his firmly sprayed blond combover -- would shave his head.

As Trump responded in a Tweet: "Only 1mil dollars @mcuban? Offer me real money and I'd consider it. Your team and networks lose so much money I doubt you have much left!"

Cuban replied that Trump needed to work on the quality of his insults.