Before Mark Cuban bought the Mavs in 2000, he sat in their non-sold-out arena on opening night among a lackluster crowd and wondered, “I can do a better job than this.” And that’s exactly what he did as the majority owner, turning them into perennial playoff contenders and leading them to a championship eleven years later. But now that Cuban has lost control of the franchise after selling his majority stake to the Adelson family for a $3.5 billion valuation, that thought of him doing a better job might be creeping up again. Especially following the shocking Luka Doncic trade. But there is a very personal reason behind why Cuban chose to give up his majority stake after 23 amazing years as the decision maker.
In a detailed conversation with WFAA, Mark revealed that the concern about his children was why he sold the team, “I didn’t want my kids to end up in this exact position, at some level, if they made a mistake. Imagine if I didn’t [sell], and my kids had taken over and they made a mistake like this.” Of course, he was referring to Nico Harrison and the Adelsons trading a generational superstar like Luka for an ageing injury prone player like Anthony Davis.
Following the controversial decision, Nico and his family have received death threats which has forced them to beef up security in their home. Moreover, the GM’s daughter is reportedly being bullied in her school by her peers. Maybe, this is what Cuban was afraid of for his kids, understanding the impact of today’s social media era, “To log in and scroll through your feed and just see what we’re seeing now, seeing what happens with the Jones family continuously, I didn’t want my kids to go through that.”
Of course, Jerry Jones, the owners of Dallas Cowboys and his family have also faced a ton of criticism and threats from fans following the franchise’s struggles. Just recently, they received a ton of backlash for hiring Brian Schottenheimer as the team’s new head coach. And Cuban wanted his kids to stay away from such crisis. Apart from this, there is another reason why Cuban transferred control to the Adelsons.
Mark Cuban reveals why Adelson Family is “Better Suited” for the Mavericks’ future
As passionate as Mark is about the Mavs, he initially thought he would never sell the team. However, things changed once he realized where the landscape of the NBA was heading, “I couldn’t build a Chase Center if I wanted to. My new partners… that’s what they live for.” Yes, Cuban understood that the Mavs needed an upgrade from the American Airlines Center and who better to take charge than the Adelsons, who are renowned real estate tycoons.
May 30, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Dallas Mavericks majority owner Patrick Dumont celebrates with head coach Jason Kidd after winning the Western Confrerence Championship against the Minnesota Timberwolves in game five of the western conference finals for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
He said, “Patrick [Dumont] and the Sands Corporation… they’re better suited to deal with building than I am. I didn’t want to find myself in a situation where I couldn’t compete because I didn’t know how to do that stuff.” However, Cuban had no idea that prioritizing a new arena would eventually cost the team losing a superstar like Doncic.
Moreover, he also addressed what the current ownership is missing without him, “I think the biggest challenge that the Mavs have right now is there’s nobody who’s really outgoing to communicate. It’s not so much what you do, it’s how you communicate why you do what you do — and that’s their challenge without me in front.” Like him or not, one thing Cuban never did as the majority owner was shy away from owning up to his decisions. However, the Adelsons are yet to clarify why they traded Luka, which has riled up the Dallas fans even more. Do you think Cuban could have handled the situation better?
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