"Nobody donated more money to Donald Trump" — Podcaster says Adam Silver denied Miriam Adelson Mavs governor post because of 'radioactive' politics
When Mark Cuban sold 73% of the Dallas Mavericks to Miriam Adelson and Sivan and Patrick Dumont, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver reportedly didn't allow Adelson to be the primary owner of the franchise. Pablo Torre spoke on the matter in an episode of "Pablo Torre Finds Out," saying that it was because of her political associations with former United States President Donald Trump.
Originally, Cuban sold the franchise to the Las Vegas Sands Corp on Dec. 27, 2023, for $3.5 billion. Despite this move, the popular entrepreneur remained in control of basketball operations. He bought the Mavericks for $285 million on Jan. 4, 2000, from H. Ross Perot Jr.
Torre shared his report on X, which featured his discussion of what Adelson did to be associated with Donald Trump.
"Her political reputation was apparently so radioactive," Torre said, "that the NBA and commissioner Adam Silver would not allow her to be the governor of the team ... the face of the Mavericks. The reason why the ostensibly left-leaning NBA inisted on this is ... because nobody donated more money to Donald Trump in 2020 than Miriam Adelson."
Based on the report provided, Adam Silver did not want to present any roadblocks with the move between Mark Cuban and Miriam Adelson and Co. However, he also presented some conditions on the agreed deal when it came to complete ownership of the Dallas Mavericks franchise.
Considering that the NBA product has a global image to uphold, the report suggested that the commissioner wanted to retain that strong and reputable branding.
Adam Silver talked about the Adelson-Dumont ownership of the Dallas Mavericks
In his 2024 All-Star Weekend press conference, Adam Silver shared his reaction to the Adelson-Dumont ownership of the Mavericks. He also addressed the owners' association with the gaming industry.
"I don't think that signals any increase in gaming for the league," Silver said. "They have gaming interests, but those are independent of their interest in owning the team." ... It's one of the reasons why we have in place the salary system we do, so that whatever you're doing off the court is independent of the rules that you're operating under..."
Silver needed to clear the air on any possible narratives regarding the NBA's intentions to further explore gaming relations. Before this move came to fruition, the league always had a strong stance on gaming.
From that perspective, the league was not going to make any tweaks or changes to established rules and stipulations for the sake of the team's newest owners. With how crucial it is to maintain the authenticity of the game, Silver wanted no confusion or exceptions made on that end.