Friday, Feb. 13, 2026 | 2 a.m.
DALLAS — Mark Cuban apparently has seller’s remorse about handing over his beloved Mavs to Las Vegas, and now some of his rich pals reportedly want to help him buy it back.
Sure, why not?
And, if they pull this off, the first thing they should do is call the Lakers and tell them they’d like Luka back, too.
Don’t stop there, either.
Tell Jalen Brunson they’re sorry they didn’t take him seriously and let him walk for nothing and bring him back, as well.
Ditto, Steve Nash.
While they’re at it, notify the NBA they’re officially rescinding their announced pick of “Kelly Olynyk” in the 2013 draft and tell them they meant to write “Giannis Antetokounmpo” instead.
Also, tell Nico Harrison they actually fired him earlier.
Like, a year earlier.
One of the unfortunate side effects of having a lot of money to play with is that it gives you the idea it can remedy any regret. Don’t get me wrong. The next-best thing to having a lot of money is having friends with a lot of money. Easier on your taxes, too.
But most of us live in the real world, where actions have consequences and, like it or not, you learn to live with them.
Like that ‘87 Oldsmobile. Or the ‘85 Volvo.
Or the ‘72 Vega.
Straight up: The Adelsons aren’t selling the Mavericks to a consortium led by Cuban or anyone else. Not for the $3.5 billion they paid in 2023. Not for $5 billion. Maybe not even for the $10 billion wallop Mark Walter laid on the crazy Buss family last fall to acquire the Lakers.
Vegas didn’t come to Dallas for the basketball, if that’s what you were thinking. If that’s all it was, Miriam Adelson could have just waited until the league awarded Sin City an expansion franchise. Would have saved them the time and expense of plying Texas politicians with millions in campaign donations in a full-court press to legalize gambling here.
Even if Cuban’s pals could double the Adelsons’ investment, you should know the Vegas people aren’t out to make a quick buck. According to Forbes, Miriam, the 42nd richest person in the world, was worth $41.6 billion as of December. She’s not hiding it under a bushel, either. Donated $111 million to Donald Trump’s last presidential campaign. Told him in December she’d fork over another $250 million if he ran for a third term, which, last we checked, was unconstitutional. Not that that seems to bother anyone these days.
Anyway, does Miriam sound like someone hurting for cash?
Let this sink in: The Adelsons aren’t some run-of-the-mill house-flippers. They didn’t come here to get out just as quick. They’re in it for the long haul. In the parlance of R. Bowen Loftin, the former Texas A&M chancellor who moved the Aggies from the Big 12 to the SEC, this is a 100-year decision. The Adelsons want to be the first Vegas people on the ground when gambling is legalized in Texas, the next and maybe greatest frontier. They know it’s not happening anytime soon. But, make no mistake, it’ll happen. Too much money behind it not to succeed, and the lieutenant governor can’t live forever.
Come to think of it, you think Dan Patrick is one of Cuban’s pals?
Just a thought.
The fuss started this week when SportsDay alum Marc Stein reported that a group of local and state investors want to back Cuban’s re-purchase of the team. In response, a source close to the family told Stein that the family remains excited about the future of the franchise in general and Cooper Flagg, in particular. I mean, who wouldn’t be excited about a dazzling young MVP candidate and fan favorite?
Other than Nico, of course.
Our Brad Townsend dug in on this story with the same tenacity that earned him the nickname Bulldog Brad or something like that. Cuban told Brad he wasn’t the source of the story, and he doesn’t think the Adelsons will sell.
We’ll take him at his word on the former, and he’s dead straight about the latter. For that matter, he should probably try to make nice with the family as much as he still can. Because, as Townsend also reports, the Adelsons retain the right at any time in the first four years of their ownership to buy out as much as 20% of Cuban’s 27% minority stake at their discretion.
This could have been what they were referring to in their statement Wednesday to The Dallas Morning News. Besides pledging their commitment to the community at large; building a “championship organization for the long term;” and stating flatly that the team is not for sale, they said they “look forward to expanding their ownership stake over time.”
Now, I’m no lawyer, but if Cuban is forced to sell 75% of his share anytime soon, it seems like it would cost him and his heirs down the road, when the Mavs will be worth considerably more than they are at present.
My guess is this will be the last you hear of this, but then I’ve been wrong before. Doesn’t mean it hasn’t been fun to think of wrongs being righted. My third favorite for the Mavs, right after the returns of Luka and Jalen, would be a do-over for the ‘90s. You had to live through it to understand, kids.
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