Mark Cuban Plots Mavs Comeback Three Years After $3.5B Sale and Luka Doncic Nightmare

Mark Cuban is currently the minority owner of the Dallas Mavericks and does not have much say on major decisions.

Mark Cuban Plots Mavs Comeback Three Years After $3.5B Sale and Luka Doncic Nightmare

Mark Cuban and Luka Doncic (Image via FirstSportz)

In Short
  • Mark Cuban is exploring a partnership with an unidentified Dallas investor group to buy back the Mavericks.
  • The Mavericks are currently struggling, ranking as the seventh-worst team in the league.
  • NBA expansion could benefit Cuban's potential bid, with Las Vegas and Seattle as favored cities for new teams.

There was a time when Dallas Mavericks fans felt that Mark Cuban would never relinquish his control over the team. After all, he built it from a beleaguered franchise into a competitive champion.

The billionaire’s efforts to build a player-centric franchise culminated in the 2011 NBA championship. Since then, the Mavs have been synonymous with excellence, even though they haven’t won much.

But this season, that narrative changed after struggles with an unbalanced roster led them to lose quite a lot of games. They are currently the seventh-worst team, and do not look like they will improve their situation.

It seems the Luka Doncic trade to the Los Angeles Lakers, one that Cuban still does not agree with, has led them to this situation. As a minority owner, he does not have control over the team. Otherwise, they would not have been in this position.

An unidentified Dallas investor group is interested in partnering with Mark Cuban to buy the Mavericks back from Patrick Dumont, The Stein Line has learned.

Marc Stein revealed on X

The longtime journalist must have heard the whispers to know something is in the works. Even though Mark Cuban sold his majority stake in the Mavs for $3.5 billion three years ago, he may be tempted to regain control.

After all, his love for the team has no bounds. He may not completely run it going forward, but if he does get a chance to fix the wrongs of the Patrick Dumont regime, this could be the perfect opportunity.

Mark Cuban might get some help from Adam Silver

If the Dallas Mavericks were valued at that much three years ago, there is a good chance that number will go up if Mark Cuban tries to negotiate this time.

The new investors Marc Stein talks about may want to push in quite a bit of cash to complete the sale. However, the founder of Cost Plus Drugs might get some help from the league. Earlier, Dallas Morning News’ Brad Townsend reported that the NBA’s Board of Governors is leaning towards expanding the league by two teams.

Commissioner Adam Silver has hinted about possible expansion down the line, but if it does come soon, Las Vegas and Seattle are possibly the first two destinations.

How this helps Mark Cuban is that his partners at the Mavs, Patrick Dumont and Miriam Adelson, have most of their ties to Las Vegas. They are also heavily into the casino business and wanted to build one in Dallas.

But they have not managed to make that happen. Since revenue is not enough without it, Adelson and Dumont could cut their losses and bid on the Las Vegas franchise. That way, they can do what they please.

At the same time, this should help Cuban and his new band of investors get the Dallas Mavericks back, after which they could start rebuilding them.

Mark Cuban will have to work hard to make Mavs contenders

The last time Mark Cuban was at the helm, his Dallas Mavericks were on their way to the 2024 NBA Finals. They fell short, but at least they proved that the Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving combination, along with the plethora of options, could be potential champions.

Mavs have to build around Cooper Flagg
Mavs have to build around Cooper Flagg (Image via Sean Davi/X)

They needed tweaks, but the 67-year-old did not expect GM Nico Harrison to trade away their most important superstar. After all, Cuban and his staff had spent years scouting him, only for the former Nike executive to trade Doncic away over his lack of conditioning.

Now, neither the Slovenian is there, nor is Anthony Davis, who came in for the 5-time 1st-Team All-NBA guard, around. They have Cooper Flagg, who has given enough glimpses of being their franchise cornerstone for a long time.

However, the team needs more than that, and a conscious effort to build through the draft and trade markets can help turn the Mavs back into contenders.

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