Did Mark Cuban try to reclaim Mavericks? The answer might shock everyone originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Mark Cuban is experiencing severe seller's remorse over his decision to sell the Dallas Mavericks, and it may have led him to explore getting the team back.
In December 2023, Cuban sold 72.3% of the franchise to the Adelson and Dumont families for $3.5 billion after 23 years as the team's majority owner. At the time, Cuban cited two main reasons for the sale. First being estate planning considerations to relieve pressure on his three children, and the financial strain of competing in the NBA as he described himself as a "middle-class billionaire" who could no longer shoulder the burden alone.
Recently, Cuban has openly expressed regret about the transaction. Asked directly whether he wanted to buy back the team, Cuban's response was unequivocal about his current desires, if not his past actions.
"If there was any chance of being able to do that anymore, I would," Cuban told Front Office Sports interviewer Dan Roberts. "But that's just not the game anymore."
When pressed about reports that he had attempted to reacquire the franchise, Cuban revealed that the initiative came from outside parties rather than from him directly.
"What happened was a bunch of people had contacted me," Cuban explained. "They weren't happy with the way things were. And I was like, look, if you can get them to sell, I'll be more than happy to contribute my equity, etc., etc., and help."
The effort never gained traction, according to Cuban, who acknowledged that the current owners have no interest in selling.
"That [effort] didn't materialize," he said. "The Adelsons... and they don't [want to sell]."
The admission provides insight into the growing tensions between Cuban and the Adelson family over the franchise's direction. Cuban has privately grumbled for more than a year about the business partners he chose, according to recent reports.
Cuban originally purchased the Mavericks in 2000 for about $285 million, transforming the struggling franchise into a championship contender. The team won its only NBA title in 2011 during Cuban's tenure and made its first trip to the NBA Finals since that championship run in 2024 under the new ownership.
Mark Cuban regrets selling the Mavs to the Adelsons
In March, he stated that while he didn't regret selling the team itself, he regretted who he sold to and acknowledged making "a lot of mistakes in the process." Those regrets, it turns out, ran deep enough that he may have seriously considered trying to reverse the sale.
Cuban clarified those feelings on the Intersections podcast. “I don’t regret selling,” Cuban said. “I regret who I sold to. I made a lot of mistakes in the process, and I’ll leave it at that.”
The sale to Miriam Adelson and her son-in-law Patrick Dumont was driven partly by the franchise's media rights situation, which Cuban described as the team's "biggest source of revenue" and a key factor in positioning the Mavericks to compete financially.
The 67 year old billionaire might buy another NBA team if the weather is right. He refuses to own a team in a cold city. Cuban also admitted he likely could not win a high priced bidding war for a new franchise today.
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