After the Dallas Mavericks sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in a deal that got them Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick in return last season, the Mavs fans were shocked.
They knew immediately that their minority owner, Mark Cuban, would never approve such a deal if he still had a majority stake in the franchise. Cuban sold 73 percent of his ownership to the Adelson family, led by Miriam and her son-in-law, Patrick Dumont.
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After Dumont approved the move that his GM, Nico Harrison made, he drew the hatred of the entire fanbase. Not as much as Nico who made the move, but when something this gigantic happens, an owner always has to approve the move.
Does the new owner care about the Mavs?
Naturally, a lot of Dallas fans have been wondering if the Adelson family cares about the franchise as much as Mark did. After all, Cuban bought the team in 2000, which was in the middle of a 10-year slump when it came to making the playoffs. He turned them around in one of the best ran organizations in the league and they also won their only NBA championship under Cuban’s ownership in 2011.
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“They do care,” Cuban firmly said when he was a guest on a “DLLS Sports” podcast recently.
“That I can say with 100 percent certainty. I still talk to Patrick [Dumont] a fair amount. And he doesn’t show emotion like I do; it’s just not his style. But he does care. He cares when we lose; he’s spending time to learn. He learned a ton. Now I can talk to him about analytics, I can talk to him about our roster… But I know he cares. I have no doubt in my mind that he wants to win a championship, but he’s not me. And he’s going to do it his own way,” Cuban sent the message to the Mavericks fans.
Better be lucky than good
Even though it was obvious the Doncic trade was a fiasco for Dallas, which didn’t even make the playoffs after he was dealt to Los Angeles, the lady luck smiled on Dumont and the Adelson family.
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Fans were in such an uproar that there were protests in front of Dallas’ home arena. Somebody even brought a coffin to symbolize the death of the team as he knew it.
Then, the impossible happened. After a 39-43 record, which is mediocre, but not among the worst teams in the league, Dallas won the Draft lottery and got the number one overall pick, where they selected Cooper Flagg, one of the most talented prospects in recent years.
For Dumont’s sake, he’d better hope that Flagg can be every bit of the generational talent he’s projected to be.
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Otherwise, the Mavs fans will never forget the Luka trade.
The only way that can happen is if Flagg and his teammates can bring a championship to Dallas.
Luckily for them, there’s a solid chance they can contend in 2026.
If Davis stays healthy, Flagg quickly develops and Kyrie Irving comes back in full form from his ACL tear, they have the cast of players to compete with anybody in the NBA.
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.