Mark Cuban Regrets Selling Mavericks to Adelson, Dumont Families

Mark Cuban has drawn a sharp line between the act of selling the Dallas Mavericks and the decision of who to sell them to, stating publicly that the former was defensible and the latter was a mistake.

"I don't regret selling," Cuban said in a teaser clip from the Intersections podcast. "I regret who I sold to. I made a lot of mistakes in the process, and I'll leave it at that."

Cuban sold a controlling stake in the franchise to Miriam Adelson and her son-in-law Patrick Dumont in December 2023 at a valuation of approximately $3.5 billion, retaining a 27% share. At the time of the deal, he asserted he would remain influential in basketball operations. That arrangement did not hold.

Dumont, CEO of Las Vegas Sands, assumed the role of team governor, and the Adelson-Dumont group proceeded to make governance and personnel decisions without Cuban. The defining rupture came in February 2025 when general manager Nico Harrison traded franchise cornerstone Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers, a move Cuban has said he did not consent to and that fell outside any prior contractual authority extended to him. Harrison was subsequently fired amid sustained fan backlash.

The trade reshaped the Mavericks in ways that continued to reverberate. Dallas acquired Anthony Davis in the Dončić deal, then offloaded Davis later that same season. The organization did land the No. 1 overall pick in the following draft, selecting Cooper Flagg out of Duke, but the franchise's competitive standing absorbed a significant blow in the interim.

The Intersections podcast, hosted by former Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert and commercial real estate entrepreneur Kyle Waldrep, released the teaser clip Monday. Cuban also confirmed the remarks to a Dallas television station, saying the quote accurately reflected his sentiments.

The statement carries structural weight beyond its candor. Under the terms of the sale agreement, the Adelson family holds an option to acquire an additional 20% stake from Cuban, a provision that would further reduce his already limited influence. With Dumont holding the governor's role and that buyout option available, Cuban's 27% share offers minimal formal leverage over the organization he ran for more than two decades.

The Adelson-Dumont group has broader ambitions in Dallas that include plans for a new arena and entertainment district. Cuban's public criticism adds reputational pressure to those efforts and may complicate the franchise's internal messaging at a moment when the on-court rebuild around Flagg demands coherent leadership from its ownership structure.