Mark Cuban is arguably the most famous NBA team owner currently for his 24-year-long stewardship of the Dallas Mavericks. The superfan-turned-owner sold the team last November, shocking fans and experts. He clarified his decision on ‘The Draymond Green Show.’
“Look at Chase. Look what Joe (Lacob) and that whole crew did. He put together a group with private funding, and they built a place where they make most of their money. I don’t know all the numbers, but that’s what I would bet. Look how much they spent to get there. I don’t know that sh*t at all. I did this because I love basketball.”
Cuban said that his expertise in the media world has allowed him to grow the Mavericks up to this point, but real estate is where he needed to aim next. Without the money or the expertise to succeed in that space, Cuban chose partners like Patrick Dumont and Miriam Adelson.
“Now with the new CBA and how media is changing, I know technology and media cold man, I grew up with that. I couldn’t build a Chase Center if I wanted to. My new partners, Patrick Dumont, and the Adelsons, that’s what they live for. He runs the Sand Corp. and they’re the biggest casino people in the world. They build arenas. This is what they live for.”
Cuban also explained why he still owns a portion of the team, reflecting his commitment to the basketball side of team ownership.
“On Shark Tank, I always say, I’d rather have 25% of a watermelon than 100% of a grape because I’m not asking people for money. I love the game, I love being a part of it, I love the energy, I hate losing and the pain of it all. But I know what I’m good at and what I suck at, and I wasn’t going to lie to myself and do something I couldn’t do.”
Cuban sold a majority stake of 69% in the Mavericks to the Adelson family, owners and proprietors of the Las Vegas Sands Corp, intending to build a new arena and eventually move the Mavericks out of the American Airlines Center.
The sale gave the Mavericks a valuation of $3.5 billion, which was lower than what the team was reportedly worth but could have been the cost of maintaining basketball control and a 27% ownership stake.
A motive that Cuban mentions later in the interview is the legislation of gambling in Texas, which would give the Mavericks a headstart in opening a resort-cum-arena in Dallas which would serve as an entertainment hub instead of just a basketball arena. We had discussed the same in a deep-dive on Cuban’s possible reasons for selling the team in November.
Given the political power and deep pockets of the Sands Corp, handing a majority stake in the Mavericks could be the best way to future-proof the organization.
Mark Cuban Maintains Control Of Basketball Operations
Mark Cuban didn’t sell his entire stake in the Mavericks, holding on to a 27% stake that could be extremely valuable if the organization ends up executing its plans for a destination resort in Dallas with legalized gambling within the premises.
In the meantime, he’s using his 27% to maintain control of basketball operations, which should lead to new team governor Patrick Dumont focusing on the administration of the organization instead of focusing on basketball decisions with no prior experience.
Cuban might still be an owner, but his word is no longer final in the Mavericks organization. The partnership has had a healthy start and likely won’t lead to any major disagreements in the short term, but as the team expands on its goals, divergent views could arise on topics Cuban would have no control over.
It isn’t clear if Cuban’s control of basketball operations is unilateral, as Dumont or the Adelsons could intervene if they felt the need to, given their larger ownership share.
For now, this looks like the perfect marriage as new owners can grow the franchise to new heights while Cuban maintains the basketball continuity of a playoff team with a generational superstar like Luka Doncic and one of the generation’s greatest players in Kyrie Irving.
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