When Mark Cuban sold his majority stake of the Dallas Mavericks in 2023, he did so with the belief that he’d still have a say in business operations and control over basketball decisions.
Two-plus years later, the Mavericks have made drastic changes to both the business and the basketball team, most notably the controversial trade of Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Cuban says that those decisions were made without his input and he feels shut out of the operation. And he’s taking his escalating dispute with majority owners Patrick Dumont and Miriam Adelson to court.
Filing accuses Mavericks of ‘adversarial business practices’
Per the Dallas Morning News, Cuban filed a petition this week in Dallas County accusing Dumont of engaging in “adversarial business practices.”
At issue, among other things: Dumont’s decision to hand basketball control from Cuban to former general manager Nico Harrison and the prospect of moving the team from the American Airlines Center in downtown Dallas to a site near the former Valley View Mall in the suburbs north of the city.
Adelson and Dumont, her son-in-law, collectively own 69% of the team. Dumont serves as the team’s governor. Cuban retained a roughly 27% share of the Mavericks in the sale. He believes that he should maintain a say in Mavericks business operations, according to the filing.
Do Cuban’s claims have legal standing?
Cuban boasted upon the sale that he would retain control over basketball operations, while Adelson and Dumont, who made their fortune with the Las Vegas Sands resort and development group, would handle the team’s real estate ventures.
“It’s a partnership, right? They’re not basketball people. I’m not real estate people. That’s why I did it,” Cuban said on Dec. 27, 2023, via Texas Metro News’ Dorothy Gentry. “I could’ve gotten more money signing it to somebody else. Obviously, I’m really excited about everything, but this is a great partnership.”
Cuban also acknowledged at the time that there was “no contractual language” granting him control of basketball operations.
“No, because you don’t do that in a sales agreement,” Cuban said. “You just don’t. There’s no contractual language, because that’s not part of a sales agreement, ever.”
Cuban: Mavs didn’t consult him on Luka Dončić deal
Per Cuban’s court filing, according to the News, Cuban accuses Dumont of reneging on a handshake deal that included verbal and email agreements that he would retain control over basketball operations.
From the filing:
“Instead of honoring his handshake deal, Dumont effectively turned control of the team over to former General Manager Nico Harrison, telling Cuban: ‘Why would I give you control of a $4 billion asset?'”
Harrison, who has since been fired, oversaw the 2025 trade of Dončić that remains one of the most stunning transactions in sports history. Per Cuban’s court filing, he wasn’t made aware of the trade until it was too late for him to voice his objection.
Petition: Cuban wasn’t consulted on new arena plans
Per the filing, Cuban also states that he’s been locked out of the arena plans for the Valley View site and that he wasn’t made aware of them until an SEC filing made them public.
The filing states that Cuban’s businesses are “contractually entitled to participate” in the Valley View deal that it describes as “a unique investment opportunity,” according to the News.
Per the News, Cuban’s filing asks a judge to force majority Mavericks ownership to disclose details about planned development, financing and corporate structure of the planned Valley View site. The filing could be a precursor to litigation seeking to complicate the arena plans, according to the report.
The petition is a legal escalation of complaints that Cuban has made over the course of the last two years, including a March podcast appearance in which he said he regrets selling to Adelson and Dumont.
“I don’t regret selling,” Cuban said on 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.”
The Adelson and Dumont families declined to comment to the News when asked about the filing. Per the Associated Press, Cuban also declined when asked for comment.
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