Cuban Pursuing Litigation Against Sands CEO Dumont Over Proposed Mavs Move

Mark Cuban is legally petitioning Dallas Mavericks Gov. Patrick Dumont, alleging “adversarial business practices” regarding a proposed move of the NBA team to another location in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

In late 2023, Cuban sold the team to Dr. Miriam Adelson, but retained a 27% stake. Adelson, the largest shareholder of Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS), appointed Dumont, her son-in-law and now chief executive officer of the casino operator, as governor of the franchise. In a court petition filed against Dumont, Cuban notes he’s “contractually entitled to participate” in the economics of a proposed move of the Mavericks to a 104-acre site known as Valley View.

The court petition isn’t a formal civil suit, meaning that as of this moment, Cuban isn’t pursuing financial damages against Dumont or the Mavericks. Cuban is, however, demanding transparency about the pitch to possibly move the team to another Metroplex location.

Currently, the Mavericks play home games at the American Airlines Center in downtown Dallas.

‘Handshake Deal’ Gone Bad

In the legal filing, Cuban alludes to another possible source of bad blood between Dumont and himself. The “Shark Tank” star says that when he sold his majority stake in the franchise to Adelson, he and Dumont had a “handshake deal” in which Cuban would maintain control of basketball operations.

However, Dumont put General Manager Nico Harrison in charge of all things basketball, leading to the disastrous 2024 trade of Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. Cuban said he would not have committed to that trade and that Dumont and Harrison didn’t run the deal by him. Harrison is no longer with the Mavericks.

The efficacy of the Cuban/Dumont handshake accord is for a court to decide, but legal precedent indicates such deals are difficult to prove in court because they amount to “he said, she said” situations.

Examining Mavs Real Estate Plans

Prior to Adelson acquiring majority control of the Mavericks, a limited liability corporation (LLC) with ties to Las Vegas Sands bought 108 acres near Texas Stadium, previously home of the Dallas Cowboys, in hopes of eventually turning the property into a mixed-use entertainment site with a new arena for the Mavericks and a casino hotel serving as the anchors.

The gaming company shifted gears, more recently acquiring 104 acres at the Valley View site. Cuban said he was excluded from that deal, telling the court that he learned about it through a Sands disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Despite Sands pouring millions of dollars into campaigns and candidates, Texas has yet to approve casino gaming, but Cuban previously made clear he wants to partner with Sands develop the prospective entertainment district.