Mark Cuban Claims That When He Sold The Mavs The NBA Took Out Language In The Contract That Would Have Ensured He Kept Control Of The Basketball Operations

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When Mark Cuban ultimately decided to sell his majority stake in the Mavs back in 2023, one thing that he was very adamant about was this idea that despite now only having a 27% stake in the club, he would transition to an alternate governor and would maintain control of the basketball operations for the team. A bit of an usual situation, but given how involved he was an owner prior to the sale, it made some sense. The people buying the Mavs weren't exactly basketball people, so why not keep Cuban on? Seemed like a win/win for everyone involved.

Well, fast forward to 2025 and as we now know, that was all bullshit. The second the Luka Doncic trade happened, it became clear that Cuban was in fact not in control of the basketball operations, or really even involved in anything. 

You can understand why Cuban is doing everything he can to distance himself from that fiasco and not really accept any responsibility, even if he technically was the guy who hired Nico on the first place and ultimately decided to sell his shares to this ownership group. He may not have a big slice of the blame pie, but he has a slice.

One of the biggest reactions to these comments by Cuban was how insane it was that Cuban went through with this sale and this supposed "plan", but apparently didn't have anything in writing. That felt weird, because how could any of his lawyers not make that a note in any sort of sales contract? That feels like something you want buttoned up for no other reason but to protect yourself and to ensure you don't get screwed after the fact.

As it turns out, according to Cuban he did put it in writing in the initial version of the contract, but the NBA made him take it out

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I'm sorry, excuse me? The NBA can override organizational decisions like that? I'm not sure that adds up. Could this just be Cuban's latest effort to further distance himself from any blame, and provide a spinzone for why he "didn't have control"? Adam Silver was asked about this very topic yesterday at the Board Of Governors meeting, and his answer was basically the exact opposite

He also added that Cuban’s involvement with the Mavericks after the sale was never a written agreement.

“I think the situation was very different in Dallas,” Silver said. “I think there was a clear change in control of the franchise to Patrick Dumont and his family. Any decision as to what Mark’s role would be in basketball operations was a function of an arrangement to be made between Mark Cuban and Patrick. The ultimate governance was absolutely clear as presented to our board that the last word on any basketball activities or any significant decision for the franchise would be made by Patrick, and I think Mark’s acknowledged that. 

“And whether or not his expectation was that he would have played more of a role in basketball operations, I don’t think Mark has ever suggested that there was a contractual issue at play here,” Silver added. “That was just his understanding of what the arrangement would be between him and Patrick Dumont.” 

OK, so who's lying. It's obvious someone isn't telling the truth here and it's easy to see why both sides would do something like this. Cuban obviously doesn't want any shred of blame for the Luka trade and also probably doesn't love that people think he was silly to not have that agreement in writing.

Adam Silver of course most definitely would not want it confirmed that the NBA meddles in these type of sales to the point where they are impacting how front offices are structured, who's allowed to do what etc. 

The way Silver answered that question makes it seem like the real situation is what we all thought. Nothing was set in stone, nothing was in writing, and everything was a "wink wink" agreement. Maybe he's telling the truth, but remember, Adam Silver also works for the owners. It's his job to deflect any wrongdoing or shady behavior considering they pay his salary. 

As an outsider with zero knowledge of how things really went down, it's impossible to know who's telling the truth and who's full of shit. It wouldn't shock me if Cuba got screwed by some shady ownership moves, maybe they called Silver and had him play the bad guy because they didn't really want Cuban around but also wanted his ownership stake. It also wouldn't shock me if Cuban is full of shit and just trying to shift the blame and switch the narrative that things were removed as opposed to never put in when the contract was first created. 

I would think something like the transition of power and how things would be run is part of the vetting process by the league whenever these sales happen, so the whole thing doesn't really add up.

My interest in this of course ties back to what's currently going on with the sale of my favorite team.

The Celtics ownership group has agreed to sell the team to William Chisholm, managing director and co-founder of Symphony Technology Group, a league source told the Globe on Thursday.

Chisholm, a Dartmouth graduate, grew up in Georgetown, Mass., and is a longtime Celtics fan.

Symphony Technology Group is a California-based private equity firm. Chisholm previously co-founded The Valent Group.

Celtics co-owner Wyc Grousbeck is expected to remain governor through the ownership transition.

When the Celtics sale was announced last July, the Grousbeck family said it intended to sell 51 percent of the team in late 2024 or early 2025.

The Grousbeck family is selling the team for estate and family planning considerations

Every single time the Celts/Wyc/Bill Chisholm has been in front of a microphone, they've talked about how Wyc is staying on for the next 3 years while the sale becomes finalized. Basically they sold a portion now and the rest is due in a few years, so in the meantime apparently Wyc is going to stay on as the "face" of the team or whatever. 

Now, this is a bit different from that Cuban situation in a sense that when it comes to the basketball operations decisions, everything goes through Brad Stevens. If Brad wants to do something, the Celtics do it. I do also wonder if there's a difference between staying on as an owner and this idea that you also are the decision maker/run the basketball ops side. That is not what Wyc said he's doing, and my guess is if he wants to do something but the new owner doesn't, it's not going to happen (unless Brad Stevens blesses it).

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The optimist in me also thinks because the new owner is a local guy who understands what it means to own and run the Celtics, that he might be more open minded to input. The Mavs owners aren't basketball people and trust a GM who has no fucking idea what he's doing who clearly wanted Luka out at all costs. That's not exactly how things are structured in the Celtics front office, but time will ultimately tell. 

Given how unique the Celts sale is, you have to assume there is some sort of contractual language that clearly spells out this transition plan, but wouldn't it be weird if the NBA apparently allowed the Celts to do it but not the Mavs? That's why things are so confusing. Part of the reason Wyc and his Dad sold to this particular group was because they were on board with him staying on, whereas other offers (Pags' for example) did not have Wyc staying on. If everyone knew the NBA wouldn't allow this, then why would that be a differentiator?

My next question comes with this supposed "waiver" that this new Celts owner could get which would bypass this weird private equity rule when it comes to ownership. His private equity firm is part of his bid, and per NBA guidelines they can't own a bigger share than an individual, which they currently do as Chisholm finds more money before the deal closes. Could this waiver also include an OK to have this type transition plan written into the contract? That normally you can't do it (like the Mavs), but they are able to work around that rule with this waiver? 

Ultimately we'll see how much control/power Wyc has once tough basketball decisions are needed later this summer, but again, thankfully that's why Brad Stevens exists.

When it comes to Cuban vs the NBA it's hard to know what to believe. All I know is someone is most definitely lying.