Dumont also says the timing doesn't matter as it relates to prospects for a new arena that would include a casino resort, because his family and that of the widow of
“We're patient,” Dumont said Friday in his first meeting with reporters since the December purchase, a few hours before the Mavs faced elimination in Game 4 of the NBA Finals against
Dumont is the son-in-law of
For the first few months after the
As the club surged into the playoffs and won three series to reach the finals for the first time in 13 years, Dumont — who lives in the
“This has been a hard-fought year, a hard-fought playoffs, for all the road that we had to go through,” Dumont said of Mavs, who were fifth in the
Cuban, outspoken with a hands-on approach in his nearly 24 years as owner, is the alternate governor now. The 65-year-old still attends just about every game, and still sits close to the
After the sale was completed, Cuban said he would have a strong voice in basketball operations. But he wasn't quoted in news releases announcing recent contract extensions for general manager
The Mavs went from one of the worst franchises in sports in the 1990s to perennial playoff qualifiers under Cuban, winning the franchise's only championship in 2011.
Cuban was honored by the Adelson family at a 2017 gala in
“I've known Mark for a really long time,” Dumont said without addressing the specifics of Cuban's role in basketball decisions. “And he and I have always had a great relationship. And so I love having him involved with the team. I think his record stands for itself.”
NBA Commissioner
“Patrick appreciates Mark’s ongoing engagement, particularly on the basketball operations side where he’s been very hands-on for many years,” Silver said.
Casino gambling faces significant obstacles in
While proposals in the most recent legislative session in 2023 went further than before, there's still a long way to go.
“When we bought the Mavericks, we weren't really thinking about casino gaming,” Dumont said. “Dallas is a great community. It's a growing economy. It's very positive for business. So when we had the opportunity for Mark with the Mavericks, that was an easy decision.”
Dumont believes the region is somewhat lacking as a tourist destination. While
“If you look at what we do, we're ground-up developers in scale, and we develop tourism assets for both business and leisure tourism,” Dumont said. “We feel like this is an opportunity that’s very good, not only for us, but for the tourism industry as a whole. Now, as part of that, we need casino gaming because of the scale of our investments.”
A major player in the
“It's something we're thinking about, we're working on,” Dumont said. “We’re spending a lot of time explaining to people what it means in terms of investment, the scale of those investments. Over time, hopefully we'll be successful.”
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AP Basketball Writer
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
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