Mark Cuban has only one regret about his sale of the Mavericks: "I regret how I did it"

When Mark Cuban sold the majority stake of the Dallas Mavericks in 2023 for three billion dollars, Dallas fans were shocked to say the least.

Cuban was one of the more outgoing franchise owners in the league, with a big personality and he seemed like he lived and breathed with every Mavs’ win or loss.

If we’re looking at it financially, there was nothing to think about, considering he bought the team in January of 2000 for 285 million dollars. The return on investment he received was huge, but let’s be real, he was already a billionaire before he sold his stake; it’s not like he needed the money.

He already cited that the main reason why he sold was his disagreement with the way the new CBA (collective bargaining agreement) was structured and the desire not to put pressure on his kids to take over the family business had a part in it as well.

Cuban has regrets

However, Cuban recently appeared on the “DLLS Sports” podcast, where he talked about whether he had any regret looking back at the decision to sell the Mavs two years ago.

He gave a really interesting answer.

“I don’t regret selling the team; I regret how I did it,” Cuban stated before, explaining himself in a little bit more detail.

“Would I still sell the team? Yes, for all the same reasons I said a hundred times. Would I do it the same way? Absolutely not,” he said.

So, what would Cuban change?

“I would’ve put it out to bid. But, I didn’t, so it doesn’t matter,” Mark mysteriously explained.

It appears Cuban wanted more control

He did highlight that he doesn’t want to go into contractual details, but Cuban did hint that the terms of the agreement didn’t pan out the way he thought they will.

For now, we don’t know those details, but it appears he was hoping to retain more decision-making control in the franchise’s future. It’s either that, or he thought he could get more money in that deal, or he’s not happy with the direction the franchise is currently heading in.

Cuban sold the team to the Adelson family, led by Miriam and her son-in-law, Patrick Dumont.

Family’s equity mainly revolved around the casino-resort business they have in Las Vegas so they had no real sports-franchise running experience in the USA.

Since they took over the team, the biggest decision that they approved of was trading Luka Doncic last season to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first round pick.

Of course, the team’s general manager, Nico Harrison, made the decision, but the Adelsons had to approve such a gigantic move.

Most of the fans and experts ridiculed the move and after Davis missed a lot of time with injury, Dallas missed the playoffs.

Cuban publicly stated that he had no control over the trade and he found out after it happened.

“If I had any influence, the trade wouldn’t happen. I was just as dumbfounded as everybody else. After I sold the Mavericks, the new owner, Patrick Dumont, decided that, ‘Ok, in Nico we trust.’ So, here we are,” he said shortly after the trade.

Cuban did retain 27.7 percent of the Mavs’ ownership, but clearly, he didn’t retain the ability to make crucial decisions.

The saving grace for the Mavs after the Luka fiasco was the NBA Lottery. Against all odds, they got the first overall pick, where they selected a generational talent in Cooper Flagg.

Adelsons are certainly hoping he can be an instant contributor to a team many see as a dark-horse championship contender in 2026.

That way they could finally get on good terms with a very angry Mavs’ fanbase.

Also, that’s the only way those fans would forget about Doncic.

This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Sep 10, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Mark Cuban has only one regret about his sale of the Mavericks: “I regret how I did it”

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