By now you’ve probably read or heard it. Certainly it’s a Mavericks talker, albeit vague in detail and murky in substance.
Purportedly, according to NBA insider Marc Stein, unidentified local investors have indicated “tangible interest” in teaming with Mark Cuban to buy back majority interest in the Mavericks from the Patrick Dumont and Miriam Adelson families.
Stein’s stature as a self-described NBA correspondent, with 1.4 million X followers, no doubt has helped the report gain legs, but even Cuban told The Dallas Morning News on Wednesday that any sale scenario seems far-fetched.
“I get asked fairly often if I would be part of a group if they could buy the team,” he wrote to The News. “I tell them all the same thing: I don’t see them selling.”
Mavericks
In other words, the possibility of a sale is at best hypothetical — and of more importance, nonexistent according to those who hold sway: the Dumont and Adelson families.
Dallas Mavericks Governor Patrick Dumont (left), watches Miriam Adelson, (center) controlling shareholder of the Las Vegas Sandals Corp., high fives Dallas Mavericks alternate Governor Mark Cuban after an NBA basketball game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Phoenix Suns, on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024, at American Airlines Center in Dallas.
Shafkat Anowar / Staff Photographer
In response late Wednesday to emailed questions about Stein’s report and Cuban’s comments, a family spokesperson issued an emphatic statement to The News:
“The Dumont and Adelson families remain fully committed to the Dallas Mavericks franchise and to the Dallas community. They remain focused on building a championship organization for the long term.
“The team is not for sale and the families look forward to expanding their ownership stake over time.”
The last sentence lands with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. In December 2023, the Adelson and Dumont families purchased a majority 69% stake of the Mavericks from Cuban and multiple minority investors at a $3.8 billion valuation.
Cuban retained a 27% stake in the franchise, but a provision in the sale agreement gives the Adelson and Dumont families the option to buy all but 7% of Cuban’s stake within the first four years of their ownership.
Wednesday’s statement to The News makes it clear that Adelson-Dumont intends to lessen Cuban’s stake prior to the December 2027 deadline.
Related
As eventful as Cuban’s 23-year tenure was as majority shareholder and team governor, certainly the 25-month Adelson-Dumont era has been more volatile, historically so, the good and bad kind.
There’s the surprising and euphoric run to the 2024 NBA Finals — but also the shock, anger and nuclear fallout of the Feb. 1, 2025, trade of Luka Doncic.
This season, in the fresh aftermath of beating 98.2% draft lottery odds and selecting 18-year-old budding star Cooper Flagg No. 1 overall, general manager Nico Harrison was fired on Nov. 11 — and last week Anthony Davis, a 10-time All-Star acquired in the Doncic deal, was traded to Washington.
The Mavericks have fallen from NBA Finalist two seasons ago to 19-34 this season and rebuilding around Flagg.
Dallas Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont (second from right) talks with minority owner Mark Cuban before Game 1 of an NBA basketball Western Conference Finals against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday, May 22, 2024, in Minneapolis. Dallas Mavericks assistant general manager Michael Finley (far left) and general manager Nico Harrison are behind them.
Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer
Perhaps that is why Stein’s vague report was received, at least on social media, as a sign of hope among some Mavericks fans.
Cuban told The News he knew nothing of the unnamed potential investors until he was told of them by Stein.
“I have been contacted by multiple groups and individuals who have interest in buying the Mavs,” he reiterated. “[But] I don’t know who the report was talking about.”
When reached Wednesday, an NBA official with knowledge of team ownership machinations told The News there’s never been any indication the Adelson-Dumont families want to sell part of the Mavericks.
If anything, team governor Patrick Dumont and Mavericks CEO Rick Welts have sharpened the franchise’s focus on trying to build a state-of-the-art, basketball-specific arena in Dallas.
Earlier Wednesday, The News was first to report that the Mavericks have retained CAA Sports to lead the franchise’s commercial strategy for the new arena and surrounding development, which the franchise hopes will encompass 50 acres in downtown Dallas or the Valley View Center property at Preston Road and Interstate 635.
Related
In the coming days, Dumont is expected to be elevated from COO to CEO of the Las Vegas Sands, the company founded by his late father-in-law, Sheldon Adelson.
While some news reports continue to portray Adelson-Dumont’s primary interest in North Texas as casino-gaming, Dumont on multiple occasions has stressed to The News that his plans to build a new arena are entirely independent of Sands’ desire to build at least one casino-resort in North Texas, if the state ever legalizes gambling.
That’s a fortunate perspective to take, since legalized gaming has never come remotely close to passing through the Texas Legislature for inclusion on statewide ballots to let voters decide the issue.
Dumont is playing the long game on gaming — and from every indication, settling in for a long tenure as the Mavericks’ governor.
Twitter/X: @townbrad
Mark Cuban can’t buy his way out of his Mavericks seller’s remorse
There is no indication the Adelson family plans to unload the Mavericks so soon into their ownership.
Mavericks’ Cooper Flagg to miss Lakers game, Rising Stars challenge due to foot sprain
Flagg was the only Mavs player scheduled to represent the franchise during All-Star Weekend.
Find more Mavericks coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.