Former Dallas Mavericks majority owner Mark Cuban has disclosed his unsuccessful attempt to regain control of the NBA franchise he sold to the Adelson family in 2023.
During an upcoming interview on Front Office Sports’ “Portfolio Players” podcast, Cuban revealed that concerned parties approached him about potentially reclaiming the team from its current ownership.
“What happened was a bunch of people had contacted me; they weren’t happy with the way things were,” Cuban explained to FOS. “And I was like, ‘Look, if you can get them to sell, I would be more than happy to contribute my equity, et cetera, et cetera, and help.’ But I didn’t expect that to materialize. I told them I didn’t think it would happen, that I didn’t think the Adelsons had any interest in selling. And they don’t.”
Currently, Cuban retains a 27% ownership stake after divesting 73% of the franchise in December 2023. The Adelson family holds the option to purchase an additional 20% from Cuban over the next four years, which would reduce his ownership to just 7%.
The new ownership’s decisions have included trading superstar player Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in February 2025, coming less than a year after the team’s NBA Finals run.
Cuban’s dissatisfaction with the sale became apparent in previous interviews. “I don’t regret selling. I regret who I sold to,” he stated on the “Intersections” podcast earlier this year. “I made a lot of mistakes in the process, and I’ll leave it at that.”
Reports from TheSteinLine.com indicated that a group of investors had approached Cuban about partnering to regain control from the current ownership structure.
“If there was any chance of being able to (buy the franchise back) anymore I would, but that’s just not the game anymore,” Cuban acknowledged.
The 67-year-old entrepreneur hasn’t ruled out purchasing another NBA team, though he has specific geographical preferences for any future acquisition.
“I wouldn’t want a cold-weather team, because flying from Dallas to where it’s freezing cold, I just couldn’t handle it,” Cuban noted. “But if it was a warm-weather team I would seriously consider it.”
