Patrick and Sivan Dumont have formally become the controlling owners of the Dallas Mavericks after purchasing Miriam Adelson’s shares of the franchise last month, a story broken by Tim MacMahon of ESPN. The Dumonts now own 69% of the Mavericks.
While this is a change at the top, it should have little day-to-day impact, as Patrick Dumont has served as team governor and been the acting owner on the ground since the day Mark Cuban sold the team to the Dumonts and Adelsons. Here is what Dumont told ESPN:
“It’s really about long-term investment in the city of Dallas,” Dumont told ESPN on Tuesday. “The Dumont family is really committed to building what we hope is the best arena in the NBA, a really significant investment in the city that will help create the new 40-year home for the Dallas Mavericks, a great experience for our fans and inspire our team to win championships. That’s really what we’re focused on. We had the opportunity, and we’re really excited about it.”
As Cuban said when he sold his majority share of the team, the NBA has become a real estate business, and what Dumont is looking to build is not just a new arena but the anchor of a much larger development. That is the trend with professional sports franchises in general, including the Dallas Cowboys.
Dumont, the Las Vegas Sands Co. CEO, has experience with building and development. He didn’t have experience as an NBA owner when he took over the team, and that position comes with a learning curve (a longer one for some than others). Dumont became a villain early in his ownership of the Mavericks when he approved the controversial trade of Luka Doncic to the Lakers, which led to severe backlash from fans in Dallas. Dumont told ESPN’s MacMahon he learned from those experiences.
“The most important thing every day is just trying to work harder to get better,” Dumont said. “It’s something that really applies in life, but it’s something that really applies to here. It’s been an experience as a new owner in the league. Dallas is a great sports city. I think we have the best fans in the NBA, very passionate, and it’s my job to make sure that we win and that we support our fans. I’m really focused on that. I’ve learned that there are a lot of things you can do — sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t — but you’ve got to keep pushing, got to keep going.”
Dumont made changes in the front office, bringing in Masai Ujiri to run the show, then Ujiri fired coach Jason Kidd to bring in Dusty May. Dumont spent millions to upgrade the team’s practice facilities. All of this with the idea of trying to maximize the team around Cooper Flagg, who in his second NBA season is looking elite and like an All-NBA player already. The new arena will ultimately be remembered as the one Cooper built.