When Mark Cuban sold the Dallas Mavericks, it was reportedly made clear that the last word on any basketball activities, or any significant decision would be made by the new owner, Patrick Dumont. As Adam Silver said, “And whether or not his expectation was that he would have played more of a role in basketball operations, I don’t think Mark has ever suggested that there was a contractual issue at play here”. Despite this, the ‘Shark Tank’ celebrity now claims that he would have control over the basketball side of the business if it weren’t for the league office. Now, Cuban’s claims are being questioned in public for all to see.

The billionaire was recently interviewed by the crew of the ‘DLLS MAVS PODCAST’. During the discussion, Cuban was asked whether it was his understanding that once the team was sold, he would be in control. He replied that he is still there for the Mavs and still positive about the franchise in the future. At the same time, he added that, “Again, like I’ve said before, there was a clause in there that gave me the right to be in every meeting, every trade discussion, everything. And the NBA took that out.”

Right after Cuban said it, host and renowned NBA reporter Marc Stein stated, “I just have to say, for the record, the NBA disputes that and says they did not.” The billionaire was quick to defend himself and stated that “Oh, I’ll show it to you. You know, I, I’ll show it to you later, right?” Stein further highlighted that the league reportedly disputes the part about them saying they’re the ones that took it out, to which Cuban protested by adding, “Who the hell do you think took it out? I mean, I’ve got the letter from my lawyer saying the NBA made us remove it.”

These remarks come 6 months after the franchise’s star player, Luka Doncic, was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. The same player who Mark Cuban, back when he was the majority owner in 2020, had provided job security to by stating that “If I had to choose between my wife and keeping Luka on the Mavs, catch me at my lawyer’s office prepping for a divorce.” In the aftermath of the trade, former Mavericks event manager Gavin Mulloy wrote that “Cuban should be run out of Dallas.” Cuban defended himself by saying, “I did every damn thing I could for 23 years.”

Mulloy replied, saying that Cuban had received a bad deal and should have retained control of basketball operations. It was that time when the billionaire stated, “Actually, I fully expected to run basketball. The NBA wouldn’t let me put it in the contract. They took it out. I thought they would stick to their word because they didn’t know the first thing about running a team. Someone obviously changed their mind.”

Months later, the dispute has failed to die down. However, no matter who was in the wrong, Mark Cuban has made it clear that he doesn’t wish to fight the league or the Mavs’ new ownership on this. “I don’t give a f—. At this point, it’s done. I signed the contract. … Contract is signed. It was signed on the line that was dotted,” said the 67-year-old during the same interview. “You know, there’s nothing I can do at this point in time to change any of it. So, what’s the point?”

Given Cuban’s protest against Luka Doncic’s trade and his remarks about being left out of the decisions, it is clear that things would have been different if the billionaire still had majority ownership. However, Cuban made it clear that it was inevitable, since selling was on his mind.

Mark Cuban Does Not Regret Selling The Dallas Mavericks: “Would I do it the same way?”

Mark Cuban’s decision to sell the Dallas Mavericks after a two-decade run was, as Jasmyn Wimbish said, “a genuine shock to those around the league given he was undoubtedly the most passionate — and vocal — owner in the NBA”. Even Adam Silver was reportedly surprised when he received the email from Cuban back in October 2022 about his intentions. Knowing what came later, one can speculate about the former majority owner feeling some regret. He does, but not in the way many would expect.

“I don’t regret selling the team. I regret how I did it,” said Cuban during the interview. “Would I still sell the team? Yes, for all the reasons that I’ve said 100 times. Would I do it the same way? Absolutely not…I would’ve put it out to bid, but I didn’t, so it doesn’t matter. I got along great with them. They gave me their man of the year award”.

CBS Sports’ Jasmyn Wimbish had stated that if Cuban had put the Mavericks on the open market, “Miriam Adelson would’ve have been the one to purchase the team, and someone else would’ve swooped in with an even bigger offer”. In such a situation, with one offer topping the other, Wimbish believes an agreement could have been made under which Dončić would have still been a member of the Mavs.

Mark Cuban now watches the Dallas Mavericks from the sidelines, being richer thanks to having gained an estimated $3.5 billion from the sale. In the end, one can only keep speculating over what could have been.