Kevin Sherrington
The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS — In a business where “weird” is just another day at the office, Tuesday broke a few barriers. No sooner had your intrepid reporter sat down in the Mavs media workroom than the boss called with the unthinkable news that Mark Cuban was selling the team. Before a night of chasing rumors and the owner’s shadow was over, I would sit through a profanity-laced address from Jason Kidd, who, in his hit-man monotone, told us we should write something positive for a change.
Hey, we put the Mavs’ mini Bernedoodle on the cover of the paper, didn’t we?
Frankly, some of us were still a bit too bamboozled by the night’s biggest headline to get where Kidd was going.
Best guesses as to why Cuban would suddenly sell a majority stake in his team to a Las Vegas family were, predictably, all over the map. Health, family, finances. One theory proposed he needed cash because of a lawsuit alleging his involvement in a cryptocurrency crash that cost investors $5 billion. In another scenario, he’d leverage the threat of moving the team to Sin City in an attempt to get what he wants for a new arena in downtown Dallas. Yet another insisted the Adelson family would abscond to Vegas with the Mavs while Cuban would assume control of an expansion franchise here.
My personal favorite: He’s running for president.
Until we hear directly from Cuban, your guess is as good as any of the above, save for the expansion thing. Try selling tickets to that.
Otherwise, we can make an educated guess that the status quo will remain pretty much the same even if the Adelsons’ takeover is approved by the end of the year, as they hope.
No reason to think it won’t go through, either. Are you kidding? This is beyond the league’s wildest dreams. David Stern is probably spinning in his grave that he doesn’t get a vote.
As for how it impacts the Mavs’ long-term future with Luka Doncic, well, that’s a different story.
For now, the team will no doubt remain in its current state of development, which is to say, it will fan the flames around Dereck Lively II until he’s well done or toast.
Before the evening’s plans blew up in our faces, I’d figured on asking Kidd what he thought of the current configuration of his roster and what it needed most: time or tinkering? Judging by his profane reaction to a question about how well Luka and Kyrie Irving have worked together this season compared with last, I think I know.
The Mavs made a lot of moves in the offseason, and even if none approached the Irving deal, the sheer volume requires time for everyone to get to know each other. Soft schedule notwithstanding, so far, so good. But, even with the active Lively cleaning up mistakes and providing a spectacular lob threat, some of the same old problems remain in play.
The undersized Mavs still get pushed around too much, and, other than Luka and Irving, who should have the ball in his hands?
If Tim Hardaway Jr. isn’t hitting 3s, which was the case against the Clippers last week, the Mavs’ offense tilts too heavily toward the backcourt.
The question leading up to the Feb. 8 trade deadline is what the new owners will say about any potential trade recommended by Cuban, Kidd and Nico Harrison. Reports stipulate that Cuban will remain in control of the team. Just the same, people who make their billions in Vegas generally aren’t the type to sit back and watch their money burn. For the first time, Cuban will have to answer to someone else, and that will take some getting used to.
A more accurate image of the kind of owners the Adelsons will be should become clear long before Luka’s option is up before the 2026-27 season. Until now, the only question about his status in Dallas has been whether the Mavs will be good enough to make him want to stay. Cuban’s intentions are obvious. Who wouldn’t want a superstar who sells tickets and merchandise? You’d think the new owners would feel the same.
On the other hand, Cuban might be long gone by then, and we have no idea what the new owners have in mind or how they do business. Like him or not, Cuban’s motivations have always been transparent.
As for the Adelsons’ motivations, this much is clear: They want to build an arena in a casino, a license to make money. As has been noted previously in this space, casinos remain an iffy prospect, at best, in Texas. Not to mention the lease on American Airlines Center doesn’t run out until 2031. Of course, persuading the state Legislature to greenlight gambling and constructing a new arena will take time, so might as well start the basketball rolling.
Can’t wait to hear what Cuban says about all this when he finally talks. Probably has a perfectly reasonable explanation. A person close to him tells me he’s “not sick, not moving to Vegas and not running for president.” Good to know. The last thing we need around here is another head of state tying up traffic.
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