The Minnesota Timberwolves and Dallas Mavericks entered the NBA Western Conference Finals as unlikely contenders, starting the year outside the top 10 in championship odds. But as surprising as the seasons were, the biggest shocks came from ownership, where a stunning sale and another protracted negotiation regularly attracted headlines.
In November, Dallas owner Mark Cuban announced a deal to sell a majority stake in his franchise, with a twist. While the Adelson family, which runs the Las Vegas Sands casino company, would become majority owners, Cuban would remain head of basketball operations, continuing to claim 27% of the team. The transaction valued the asset at US$3.5 billion.
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As team governor, Patrick Dumont (Miriam Adelson’s son-in-law) technically now has the final say on all decisions, but Cuban has express that he is trusted to make most team-related calls. “Having the partnership and eventually having new and deeper revenue streams allows us to be better,” he said in December.
At this year’s trade deadline, the team took its typically aggressive stance, adding Washington’s Daniel Gafford and Charlotte’s PJ Washington in exchange for future first-round picks. Cuban also continued to be a public face at games, including Wednesday’s 108-105 Game 1 win for the Mavs in Minnesota.
“If you’ve seen me at the games, you know it’s the exact same thing,” Cuban said via email about how much he’s enjoyed this playoff run due to the role change.
Meanwhile, in Minnesota, the current property situation has been significantly more tumultuous. Current governor Glen Taylor and potential future majority owners Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore are moving toward a binding arbitration process to determine who can boast control of one of the NBA’s most exciting teams.
Lore and Rodriguez signed an agreement in 2021 to purchase the Timberwolves over the course of four transactions. The two spent much of the last three years seeking financing for the purchase. But this spring Taylor said the deal was off, arguing the buyers missed an important deadline. The pair currently own 36% and could maintain that stake even if Taylor wins in arbitration. The original deal priced the T-Wolves at $1.5 billion, while Sportthe most recently assessment estimates its value at around US$2.9 billion.
“It seems to me that we should have a very positive performance for several years,” said Taylor counted Atlético in March, “and I want to be part of that.”
Lore and Rodriguez responded to Taylor’s stance by calling it “an unfortunate case of seller’s remorse that is short-sighted and disruptive to the team and fans during a historic winning season.” They claimed to have followed the necessary deadlines set out in the original agreement.
In turn, the league reportedly asked both sides to keep the disagreement out of public statements.
Each camp has received a certain level of credit for the direction Minnesota appears to be heading now; Before this season, the franchise hadn’t reached the second round of the NBA playoffs in 20 years. Whoever ends up as the primary owner will likely eventually be asked to pay a significant luxury tax to keep the new core together. As ESPN’s Zach Lowe recently put it on his podcast, “You’re in Financial Prison.”
A-Rod remained close to the players despite the dispute. After the Wolves defeated the defending champion Denver Nuggets in a seven-game series, Rodriguez shared an elaborate courtside handshake with emerging star Anthony Edwards.
However, if Minnesota punches a ticket to its first NBA Finals appearance in franchise history, it will almost certainly be Taylor — considered the state’s richest man — on stage celebrating the conference title.
On the other hand, it’s unclear whether Dumont would make his most public appearance as Mavs owner in that scenario, or whether Cuban would have a chance to return to the trophy presentation stage for the first time since Dallas made and won the 2011 NBA Finals. .
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Cuban said.
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