Minority owner Mark Cuban reveals true reasons behind Dallas Mavericks sale

Mark Cuban gives two reasons why he sold his majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks last season to the Adelson family.

Minority owner Mark Cuban reveals true reasons behind Dallas Mavericks sale

Mark Cuban sold his majority stake in the Mavericks for two reasons

The basketball world was stunned when Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban sold his majority stake. On a recent episode of the “BIG Podcast” with Shaquille O’Neal, Cuban revealed that he hadn’t originally planned to sell but felt the offer was too good to pass up.

Mark Cuban on the show discussed his decision-making process and expressed no regrets about the sale. Nonetheless, Cuban who had been a highly dedicated and recognizable NBA owner, shocked many when he announced he was selling the team after decades of ownership.

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I sold the team for two reasons: one, my kids 15, 18, and 21. It puts a lot of pressure on them as I get older to make a decision, are they gonna run the team?… And second, I always had an edge when I came in. But what’s happening now, and you saw it with Golden State, now with Boston, is you build all around the arena and the arena becomes a central point for some bigger real estate development.

Mark Cuban said

It should be recalled that Cuban bought the Mavericks from Ross Perot Jr. in January 2000 for $285 million and played a significant role in the franchise’s rise to prominence in the Western Conference. Known and loved by fans for his courtside presence and passion, Cuban was there to celebrate the Mavericks’ first NBA Championship in 2011.

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One of his recent best deals was when the Mavs drafted Luka Doncic. This reaped fruits as last season he led them to the NBA Finals in 2024, where they lost to the Boston Celtics.

Mark Cuban on the Mavs’ failed attempt to sign Kobe Bryant

Also speaking to Shaquille O’Neal on his podcast, Cuban claimed that the late Kobe Bryant nearly became a Dallas Maverick in 2007. He went further to say that it all started after Bryant had requested a trade due to frustration with the Lakers’ lack of success, as they had either missed the playoffs or lost in the first round for three consecutive years.

Cuban believed the Mavericks were in a better position to contend at that time, especially with Dirk Nowitzki coming off an MVP season and a recent NBA Finals appearance. And although the Mavericks offered a trade package that featured All-Star Josh Howard and key scorer Jason Terry the Lakers ultimately chose to keep Bryant.

Do you realize how close we were to trading for Kobe in 2007? I was literally this close. I talked to Jerry Buss and worked something out with Jerry because Kobe had asked to leave… And I literally thought it was done. And then, Mitch Kupchak stepped up and said, ‘We can’t do this.’ Talked Kobe out of it. The rest is history.

Mark Cuban said
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The Purple and Gold later acquired Pau Gasol and Trevor Ariza as these moves helped the Lakers reach three straight NBA Finals. The Lakers won the championships in 2009 and 2010 and the Mavericks struggled in the playoffs.