Mark Cuban is looking back on the sale of the Dallas Mavericks with a very different perspective than he had two years ago. The billionaire entrepreneur said that he still believes selling his majority stake in the franchise was the right move, but he now regrets handing control of the team to Miriam Adelson and Patrick Dumont.
Cuban made the comments during an appearance on the Intersections podcast, where he reflected on the Mavericks’ turbulent stretch since the ownership change. “I don’t regret selling,” Cuban said. “I regret who I sold to. I made a lot of mistakes in the process, and I’ll leave it at that.”
Cuban sold his controlling share of the Mavericks in December 2023 in a deal valued at roughly $3.5 billion. Adelson, the majority shareholder of Las Vegas Sands, and her son-in-law Dumont took over control of the franchise, while Cuban kept a 27 percent stake.
At the time, Cuban said he would remain involved in basketball operations and suggested that little would change beyond his ownership percentage. Instead, the organization moved in a dramatically different direction.
Cuban purchased the Mavericks in 2000 for $285 million and became one of the NBA’s most visible owners over the next two decades. During his tenure, Dallas made 18 playoff appearances, won the 2011 NBA championship behind Dirk Nowitzki, and later built around Luka Dončić.
Cuban’s courtside presence, outspoken personality, and willingness to challenge the league helped make the Mavericks one of the NBA’s most recognizable franchises.
The sharpest turning point came in February 2025, when then-general manager Nico Harrison traded Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers in a blockbuster move that stunned the NBA.
Cuban later said he learned about the trade only after it had already been completed. He recalled getting a late-night message from Harrison before being told, “No, Mark, it’s done.” Cuban said he immediately called the new ownership group and believed the deal was a mistake.
Since then, the Mavericks have struggled to regain stability. Harrison was eventually fired after intense backlash, and Dallas still has not named a permanent replacement, with Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi currently sharing the job on an interim basis.
Anthony Davis, who arrived in the Dončić trade, was later moved again, and the team has missed the playoffs in consecutive seasons despite landing the No. 1 pick and selecting former Duke star Cooper Flagg.
Even so, Cuban said the emotional demands of owning the Mavericks had become difficult to sustain. He explained that he did not want his children to inherit the pressure that comes with running an NBA franchise.
“My kids, they were coming of age where they would have the mindset that they want to work at the Mavs,” Cuban said. “I didn’t want that for them. If fans don’t like what you’re doing or the team’s not doing well, you’re the worst human being on the planet.”
