Mark Cuban will be selling his majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks, according to Marc Stein. The Mavs will be purchased by Dr. Miriam Adelson and the Adelson family, who recently sold $2 billion in shares in the Las Vegas Sands casino chain.
While Cuban is effectively stepping down as the Mavs' owner, he isn't leaving the franchise. In a unique twist, Cuban will retain control of Dallas' basketball operations as part of the transaction. He is also leaving Shark Tank after next season, so it's clearly a time of change for Cuban and his family.
Mark Cuban selling Dallas Mavericks, stepping away from Shark Tank
Still, Cuban and his large public persona will remain connected to the Mavs' franchise. With the recent report that LeBron James' manager, Maverick Carter, bet on NBA games, the sale of a franchise to a casino magnet could raise eyebrows. The NBA has embraced legal gambling and it's getting harder to ignore the connection between the league and sports betting.
Aside from the obvious financial boost of selling the Mavs while still maintaining control of basketball ops, there is a wave of uncertainty as to why Cuban is jumping ship. He has been one of the most publicly involved owners in the NBA since purchasing the Mavs in 2000. He clearly loves Dallas basketball.
Naturally, the sudden departure of the Mavs and Shark Tank led some to speculate that Mark Cuban might run for president in 2024. It's quite the thought given the current state of political affairs in America. In an email to NBC News, Cuban addressed the rumors bluntly.
Is Mark Cuban running for president?
"No plans to run," Cuban told NBC, saying his family "would disown [him]" if he mounted a run for public office. Business mogul Donald Trump won the presidency in 2016 with zero political experience, setting a new precedent in America.
Cuban has been vocal on the political front, especially during the Trump years and in particular during the pandemic, but it would appear he is not currently planning a presidential run. He's a significant public figure who could bridge certain political gaps with his persona, but Cuban is a billionaire who just added a few billion more to his personal fortune. Maybe he's happy to take a step back, watch the Mavs, and not spend every day under intense public scrutiny as a presidential candidate.
Of course, never say never. If Cuban finds himself particularly discontent with the shape of the presidential race in 2024, he could pivot. In his email to NBC, he "praised efforts by the group No Labels to create a bipartisan ticket for the presidency next year." So, he's not ignoring the landscape entirely.