Incoming Las Vegas Sands CEO Patrick Dumont Says Luka Doncic Trade Was a Business Decision
Posted on: March 14, 2025, 08:29h.
Last updated on: March 14, 2025, 09:07h.
- Las Vegas Sands COO Patrick Dumont remains on the defensive after trading Luka Doncic
- Dumont and his mother-in-law, Dr. Miriam Adelson, own the NBA Dallas Mavericks
- Dumont will become Sands CEO next year
Patrick Dumont knows a thing or two about running the world’s largest casino company. He’s betting big that his business expertise can apply to running an NBA franchise.
Dumont, who married into the Adelson family, which controls the Las Vegas Sands empire, a gaming firm with a market capitalization of more than $31 billion, is currently the president and chief operating officer of the Marina Bay Sands owner. Along with his mother-in-law, Dr. Miriam Adelson, whose net worth is north of $30 billion, a fortune she inherited from her late husband, Sheldon Adelson, Dumont purchased a 69% stake in the Dallas Mavericks from Mark Cuban in December 2023.
The Mavs shocked the hoops world in early February by trading Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis. NBA insiders nearly unanimously panned the trade, saying LA got the better end of the deal.
Dumont has since been on defense. The Sands executive tried to explain the decision during a recent event hosted by The Real Estate Council in Dallas.
Tough decisions are never easy. Part of leadership is looking at risk and the factors of the decision and be willing to act at that time. It’s about looking to the long term and not only thinking about the short term, or how it may be received immediately,” Dumont said.
Dumont stated that the Mavs’ loss in last year’s NBA Finals prompted a need for change. That change came on Saturday, February 1, when Dumont and Adelson unloaded the face of their franchise.
‘Roster for the Future’
Dumont said many of the top teams in the NBA got better last offseason, while the Mavs were largely stagnant.
We got to the championship games and we didn’t win. We had to decide how we get better — how we improve our team. We looked at our trajectory during the season and realized we did not get better. This was a decision about the future,” Dumont declared.
“The objective was, how do we create a roster for the future that allows us to be the most competitive team?” Dumont continued. “We want to win championships. We want to be a winning franchise, one of character, one of community involvement, and one that carries on the legacy of the Dallas Mavericks.”
The Doncic trade hasn’t exactly accomplished that mission. The Mavs’ title odds have ballooned from 20/1 before dealing Doncic to 2000/1 as of this writing. At 33-34, Dallas is clinging to the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Next Sands CEO
Dumont will become chief executive officer of Sands next year when Robert Goldstein calls it quits. Goldstein has been with Sands for three decades and was one of Adelson’s closest advisors as the company built the Cotai Strip in China’s Macau.
In 2009, Dumont married Sivan Ochshorn, one of Miriam’s daughters from her first marriage. Dumont got to know the heir to the billionaire family by climbing the ranks of the Sands corporate later. He was appointed chief financial officer in 2016.
Ochshorn’s day job is running the Israeli Hayom, the Israeli newspaper that the Adelsons purchased in 2018. The Adelsons also own the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
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Last Comments ( 8 )
Well your "business decision" shaved an estimated $1.5 billion off your franchise net worth so I'd say it was a rather poor decision. How you end up with a single 1st round pick and an aging, injury prone Anthony Davis for arguably the league's best shooter in his mid-20's is unbelievable. Truly mind-blowing. I couldn't even imagine the Lakers office and what was going through their head. Like winning the lottery .
Perfectly said and totally honest to "my worst fan"....I can't even add to that, lol!
So you “want to win championships & you want to be a winning franchise, one of character, one of community involvement & one that carries on the legacy of the Dallas Mavericks.” The amount of irony & lack of business sense & just plain common sense can’t even begin to be measured in these statements! You have literally done the opposite of every one of your so called goals! You win championships by getting rid of a generational talent who managed to practically average a triple double every night he played? You accuse him of being out of condition & not fitting the MAVS culture! What a bunch of liars! Look at his stats, at the ripe old age of 25, and say that stupid s - - t again! What a laughing stock you make of yourself spouting this nonsense! You talk about character & again you make fools of yourselves! What kind of character ambushes a young kid in the middle of the night with life altering news! You were too cowardly to let anyone know your evil plan because you knew it would be soundly refuted as the idiocy it was! The only community involvement you are interested in fills your pockets with the tainted, criminal gambling element associated with your Vegas casino pals! Again you lie! How dare you even mention you are doing this to carry on the Mavs legacy! Just how stupid do u think the Mavs fans are that we are going to buy your idea of preserving our legacy by ruining our chances of success for years to come! I hate that you disrespected Luka, you disrespected all MFFLs, you disrespected the State of Texas & you disrespected the city of Dallas! So I don’t have any problem with everyone totally disrespecting you, this 75 year old grandma & MFFL for many years, I am literally praying that your quest for casinos in Texas is totally defeated! Maybe then you & your ilk will get the Hell out of Texas & slink back to the swamps you came from! DON’T MESS WITH TEXAS!
Was the dumbest trade why would you with no experience think that trading shall of gamer for an injured player. Come on 1 game and out the whole year for AD please move the team to Las Vegas so we never see your DA AGAIN
BOO THE OWNERS. Made it to the NBA finals and then trade their 25yr old super star. How does it make sense as a business move? Dallas hates them now.
Dumont apparently holds a "BS" degree!! You said because we lost in the "championship games (yep, he's a HUGE fan...), there was a need for change; how do you justify removing the overarching CAUSE of us being there in the first place?!? You gotta RUN IT BACK!! The entire fanbase was waiting for Luka to get back on the court to make a magical run through the remaining 30-or-games in the season!! {MONEY DOES NOT=INTELLECT!!}
A dumbass one…. An I have a BA degree
I think the Luka Doncic trade was a strategic move for the Mavs. It makes sense for the business side of things, but it’s a tough loss for the fans. What do you all think?