A conflict between Mark Cuban and the group that took over ownership of the Dallas Mavericks in 2023 has led to a legal dispute in a Dallas County courtroom.
Cuban is accusing team governor Patrick Dumont of excluding him from the franchise’s most significant business endeavor in decades: the development of a new arena at the site of the former Valley View Mall.
Cuban filed a pre-suit petition earlier this month, invoking a law that allows him to ask a judge to compel Dumont and the Mavericks’ ownership to turn over records about the arena deal before the judge decides whether to file a full lawsuit. The filing accuses Dumont of “adversarial business practices” and claims Cuban’s companies were contractually owed a role in what the petition calls a “unique investment opportunity.”
A Deal Gone Sour
Cuban sold his controlling stake in the Mavericks in December 2023 to the families of Miriam Adelson and her son-in-law, Dumont, in a transaction reportedly worth roughly $3.5 billion. Cuban kept a 27% ownership share and, by his own account, walked away from the negotiating table believing he’d retain authority over basketball decisions while Dumont handled the business side, including real estate and a long-pursued casino resort push in Texas.
That arrangement, Cuban says, never played out the way he expected.
Instead of preserving his role in basketball operations, Dumont handed full control to then-general manager Nico Harrison. The fallout from that decision became impossible to ignore in February 2025, when Harrison traded franchise cornerstone Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers – a move that blindsided Mavericks fans and, according to the filing, blindsided Cuban himself.
The trade set off a wave of criticism from the fan base and around the league, and Harrison was fired in November as Dallas later stumbled out of the gate in the 2025-26 season.
The Valley View Play
The Cuban dispute lands just weeks after the Mavericks made their arena plans official.
On June 1, the team officially announced it had signed an agreement to purchase around 104 acres at the site of the demolished Valley View Mall in North Dallas, ending months of speculation and surveys that had also included a downtown City Hall site.
The Mavericks’ lease at American Airlines Center runs through 2031, and the new arena is targeted to open that same year. It would be the first time in the franchise’s history, going back to its 1980 expansion debut, that the Mavericks have played home games outside of downtown Dallas.
Cuban reportedly wants to see the actual paperwork – the Valley View purchase contract, how it’s being financed, and details on Arena Development Intermediate, the company set up to run the project. He further claims Dumont cut him out of other deals tied to the arena, including talks involving the Dallas Stars, the other main tenant at American Airlines Center.
There’s a wrinkle that could weaken Cuban’s leverage, though. Buried in that original 2023 sale agreement is a clause giving the Adelson and Dumont families the right to buy up another 20% of Cuban’s remaining stake – a move that would knock his ownership down to just 7%. The families confirmed as much earlier this year, saying that they’re looking forward to growing their share of the team.
For now, this appears to be about Cuban trying to get answers – no actual lawsuit, no damages – not yet.
Provided by Dallas Express
