Mark Cuban will probably sell most of his shares in the Dallas Mavericks in the near future. Miriam Adelson will be the new owner. What’s behind Cuban’s move and what will change for the Dallas Mavericks? And: Who is Miriam Adelson actually?
This news came out of nowhere. Marc Stein (Substack) was the first to drop the bombshell. Mark Cuban, one of the NBA’s most prominent owners, will sell a majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks. The now 65-year-old bought the Mavs over 23 years ago and, together with Dirk Nowitzki, shaped the most successful era in franchise history.
The new owner will be Miriam Adelson, whose company Las Vegas Sands announced yesterday that the purchase should be completed by the end of the year. Cuban himself has not yet commented in detail, but as usual he sat in his usual seat near the bench during the game against the Houston Rockets (121:115).
What does this mean for the franchise and what are the motivations? We’re looking for clues.
Dallas Mavericks: Why does Mark Cuban want to sell?
That’s the big question and there is no real answer to it yet. From a financial perspective, of course, it’s a win for Cuban, who bought the Mavericks from Ross Perot in 2000 for $285 million. How big the profit will be is still unclear, as it is not known how many shares Cuban will give to the Adelson family. According to Forbes, the Mavs are valued at $3.5 billion, which is also a surprise.
For comparison: The Phoenix Suns were valued at $4 billion when they were sold in February; $3.5 billion formed the basis for the sale of 25 percent of the shares in the Milwaukee Bucks. Even the small-market team in Charlotte, where Michael Jordan relinquished control, was worth $3 billion.
At the same time, Cuban will retain his seat as “governor” of the Mavericks and continue to be involved in operations. This is possible if Cuban retains at least 15 percent of his shares.
But insider circles also say that Cuban has faded somewhat into the background in recent years. For years, the Mavs owner was known as a micro-manager who kept an eye on everything, but that is said to have changed since Nico Harrison was installed as the new GM. According to The Athletic, Cuban still wanted to be informed, but the decisions were made by Harrison. Things were often different in the Donnie Nelson era.
Cuban may actually want to spend more time with his family. The billionaire hinted at this last week when he stated that he no longer wanted to appear on the upcoming season of Shark Tank. “The family is very important to me and it becomes more and more difficult when each of the children goes their own way,” revealed the Mavs owner in an interview. Cuban has three children, one daughter goes to college, another daughter (17) and a son (14).
Dallas Mavericks: All owners in franchise history
Dallas Mavericks: Who is Miriam Adelson?
The trend in recent years has been for younger owners to come to the NBA, but that is not the case here. Adelson is already 78 years old and her fortune comes from the casino and resort empire left behind by her husband Sheldon Adelson, who died two years ago. Her fortune is estimated at almost $33 billion, making her the fifth richest woman in the United States according to Forbes. In the NBA, only Clippers owner Steve Ballmer has deeper pockets.
Adelson has Polish ancestors; her parents fled the Holocaust to Israel before she moved to the USA in the 1980s. There she met Adelson, her second husband. Adelson previously worked as a doctor specializing in drug addiction.
After her husband’s death, Adelson took over ownership of Las Vegas Sands, around 57 percent of the shares. Adelson is also extremely politically active and is one of the largest donors in the USA. The Adelsons donated a whopping $180 million to the Republican Party in 2020. Back in 2018, then-President Donald Trump awarded her the Medal of Freedom, and in 2017 she was one of the finance vice-chairmen when he was inaugurated into office.
After Sheldon Adelson’s death, Time wrote that he was a “kingmaker” of the Grand Old Party; together with his wife, Adelson is said to have had a massive influence on Republican politics. Adelson is considered one of Trump’s biggest supporters; a few years ago she even suggested that the Bible should include a “Book of Trump” because he had done so much for the Israeli state.
Adelson cited “friendship, courage and the triumph of truth” as reasons. Israel’s controversial Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is also supported by the Adelsons.
To buy the Mavericks, Adelson is giving up shares in Las Vegas Sands worth $2 billion, but she still retains the majority within the company.
Dallas Mavericks: What will change?
As Marc Stein (Substack) reports, Adelson will have little to do with the team. Instead, it can be assumed that her son-in-law Patrick Dumont will take care of the fortunes of the franchise. The COO of Las Vegas Sands was also quoted in an official statement in which the family underlined its intention to complete the purchase of the shares by the end of the year.
Nevertheless, Cuban is still likely to be responsible for most decisions, although Cuban is no longer as omnipotent as he was in the previous 23 years. That’s part of the deal, which is why the Mavericks are comparatively “cheap”. A few weeks ago, Forbes valued the Mavs at $4.5 billion.
Incidentally, the Mavs would not be the first basketball team for the Adelson family. They bought Hapoel Jerusalem in the summer and, according to Jake Fischer (Yahoo Sports), immediately tripled the budget. Son Matan Adelson is responsible here, and this could possibly be seen as a test for him before he becomes more involved with the Mavericks.
The connection to Las Vegas Sands has also been around for a while. Two years ago, Cuban revealed plans that he wanted to build a new arena in Dallas together with the casino giant. The leasing contract with the arena, in which the NHL’s Dallas Stars also play, expires in July 2031. After that, the Mavs will find a new home according to Cuban’s ideas.
The Adelson family, which – no surprise – has excellent contacts in Republican Texas, is now supposed to help. Last year, Adelson donated around $1 million to Governor Greg Abbott.
Why do the Dallas Mavericks want a new arena?
The Mavs have only been playing at the American Airlines Center for 22 years, only eleven teams have a younger hall and yet Cuban has been making plans to get out of the AAC for years. The background is the poor connection by Texas standards, as the parking situation within the area is not the best due to the construction boom. It doesn’t matter that there is both an S-Bahn and a bus station in the immediate vicinity.
In 2016, Cuban already had a vision for the new hall: “I want to build an arena that is 20 stories high and every spectator can look out to downtown Dallas from their seat.” The partner for this will now be Las Vegas Sands, which is very interested in opening casinos in Texas. “With Las Vegas Sands at my side, the goal is to build a new arena between a hotel and a casino. That is the mission,” Cuban had already announced.
The catch, however, is that sports betting and casinos are still banned in Texas (exception: there are three casinos on indigenous reservations, they have here [noch] monopoly position). However, there could be some movement here soon. Two possible laws have been discussed for some time that would allow casinos to be built on state property and online betting would be regulated. There is no difference between Democrats and Republicans here, as the casino lobby supports both parties financially.
Adelson is also a member of the Texas gambling lobby (“Sports Betting Alliance”); ironically, the owners of the Houston Rockets (Tillman Fertitta), Dallas Cowboys (Jerry Jones) and San Antonio Spurs (Peter Holt) are also registered here.
2023-11-30 08:00:00
#Book #Trump #casinos #Texas #impending #sale #Mark #Cuban #Dallas #Mavericks
