Dallas Mavericks owner and famed investor Mark Cuban will sell his majority stake in the team, according to NBA insider Marc Stein. Cuban will sell the Mavericks to Miriam Adelson and her family for a valuation in the range of $3.5 billion. Las Vegas Sands Corp. announced Tuesday in an SEC filing that Adelson was selling $2 billion worth of stock in the company, approximately 10 percent of her stake, to put towards buying a majority stake in a sports franchise, along with her own cash.

Who Is Miriam Adelson?

Adelson is the largest shareholder in Las Vegas Sands Corp., which was formerly owned and run by her late husband, Sheldon Adelson.

According to Forbes, Adelson is one of the richest people in the world. With an estimated net worth of $32.3 billion, Forbes recently named Adelson the 35th-richest person in the world and the fifth-richest woman.

“We have been advised by the Selling Stockholders that they currently intend to use the net proceeds from this offering, along with additional cash on hand, to fund the purchase of a majority interest in a professional sports franchise pursuant to a binding purchase agreement, subject to customary league approvals,” Las Vegas Sands said in the SEC filing.

Cuban To Exit The Spotlight, Sells Mavs For 1,128% ROI

Cuban, the primary stakeholder in the Mavericks for nearly a quarter century, bought the NBA franchise in 2000 for $285 million. With the Mavericks sale, the American business mogul will earn a whopping 1,128% return on investment.

Despite the sale, Cuban will retain some ownership shares in the team and full control of basketball operations. According to Forbes’ recent NBA valuations, Adelson will be getting a considerable discount from Cuban. The Mavericks were pegged at an estimated $4.5 million valuation by Forbes, making them the seventh-most valuable team in the NBA.

Cuban also recently announced that season 16 will be his last on the TV show Shark Tank. After joining as a guest shark during the show’s second season, Cuban became a mainstay on the show, investing over $60 million into 218 deals, more than any other shark. He also entered into 104 partnerships with Lori Greiner being his most frequent partner (42 times).

Chicago Bulls star Zach LaVine has been the subject of a number of NBA trade rumors over the past few weeks, and his performance reflected it in Tuesday’s 124-97 blowout loss to the Boston Celtics.

LaVine, 28, left with a sore right foot and did not return. The two-time All-Star ended his outing with two points on 1-of-9 (11.1%) shooting from the field and three missed 3-point attempts in 25 minutes of action.

Boston now advances to the quarterfinals of the NBA In-Season Tournament.

Referring to a couple of NBA betting sites, the Chicago Bulls hold 22nd-ranked odds to win this season’s championship. Sportsbooks are showing better odds for the Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors, and Brooklyn Nets.

#Bulls Zach LaVine has the WORST career winning percentage in the NBA among active players. Vucevic is 4th worst on the list.

LaVine has won just 36.8% of his games and Vucevic won just 40.1%

(minimum 500 games played) pic.twitter.com/v76ZgKdYiE

— Die-Hard Chicago Bulls Fans (@DieHardCBfans) November 29, 2023

The Celtics won a three-team tiebreaker with Orlando and Brooklyn based on point differential to win Group C and earn the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference. Boston will visit the No. 2-seeded Indiana Pacers next week.

DeMar DeRozan and Coby White led the Bulls in scoring with 19 points apiece. Patrick Williams added 14 points and seven rebounds for the Bulls. Boston ended the second quarter with 38 points, finishing with a 69-50 halftime lead.

Chicago Bulls’ Zach LaVine recorded a season-low two points vs. Boston Celtics, left game with sore right foot

Additionally, the Celtics outrebounded the Bulls 51-38 and shot 47-of-90 (52%) from the floor. Boston led by as many as 35. Chicago’s losing streak was extended to five games.

Through 18 starts this season, LaVine is averaging 21 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 35.3 minutes per game. He’s also shooting 44.3% from the field, a career-low 33.6% outside the arc, and 86.6% at the foul line.

Last July, the 10-year veteran inked a five-year, $215.16 million contract with the Bulls. He’s slated to earn $40.04 million this season and $43.03 million in 2024-25. His deal includes a $48.96 million player option for 2026-27 as well.

“I expect them to express interest in Zach LaVine.”
– @ShamsCharania

Do the Lakers need a 3rd star??

📺: https://t.co/qYBPWhYgh7 pic.twitter.com/8dszo21Fcu

— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) November 28, 2023

In other news, the Los Angeles Lakers remain interested in trading for LaVine. However, the Bulls are reportedly asking for Austin Reaves and multiple draft picks in return.

“The Bulls, I’m sure, would covet Austin Reaves in any potential Zach LaVine trade,” said Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.

Of course, the Lakers’ free agents they signed over the summer will not become trade eligible until mid-December. If LaVine is to be traded, it will likely not be until later next month.

In an interview back in 2020, LaVine let it be known that he would contemplate playing with LeBron James and the Lakers. “I’d love to go there and play with a dude like LeBron James. Playing with a dominant big man is great, too,” he said.

Over the years, we’ve seen plenty altercations involving Russell Westbrook with fans, usually exchanging heated words during a game or even after the contest. This Tuesday, the Clippers star got into a new argument with someone in the audience late in his team’s loss to the Nuggets. 

As it happened, NBA official Lauren Holtkamp stood between the veteran guard and the audience during the final 30 seconds of the match. That’s when two security personnel came on court to try and solve the situation, while DeAndre Jordan went over to a heated Westbrook to calm him down and advise him to move away.

“I’m not going to speak on it because it’s not appropriate,” the 35-year-old responded when asked what the fan had shouted at him.

Russell Westbrook talking shit to a fan, and then intercepting the pass from Kawhi to PG for a layup, then going back to talking shit to the fan is hilarious to me 😂 pic.twitter.com/7xDk90umQJ

— Ben Cary (@Ben_Cary_) November 28, 2023

“It’s unfortunate today fans can say whatever they want,” Russell claimed. “I’m just protecting myself. Personally, I won’t allow it. I won’t stand for it.”

Just last season, the L.A. guard and a Phoenix Suns fan got into a discussion at half-time in a club area at Footprint Center during the playoff series. Then again in December 2022, he had another furious exchange with a fan sitting courtside back when he still wore the Lakers jersey.

“I understand fans are enjoying the game and feeling up to whatever that may be,” the player acknowledged. “I guess they feel they can kind of say whatever, but this is our job … all the negative comments about family and things of that nature, I would kind of stay away from. But anything else, they can kind of say what they want.”

Westbrook then shared how he won’t let these situations just slide by. “Respect is a big thing that I value so the moment that line gets crossed I won’t allow it no more,” he said. “I stood for it for years and now my son is old enough to know what’s going on and asks me, ‘Hey Dad, what does that mean or what’s that?’”

ESPN’s panel of experts share strong opinion on Westbrook’s recurrent discussions involving basketball fans

All throughout the internet, both fans and experts have been talking about these constant situations involving the Clippers superstar. ESPN’s “First Take” panel delivered a strong diagnosis on these incidents, mostly stating the many fans go too far when shouting during the exhibition.

“I’m disappointed that Russell Westbrook is in these situations. I want to say that, I’m not blaming him, I want to make sure I emphasize on that. There are fans that go a bit too far,” said Stephen A. Smith. “There are fans that say things out of pocket. And in Russell’s defense, they say stuff they would never say to his face if you didn’t have people as intermediaries blocking.”

According to the ESPN icon, the 35-year-old guard is a way better person than most people think. “You got a bunch of punks in the stands that are paying customers. Having said that, here’s where my problem is with Westbrook.

“He is a gazillion times better as a human being than people realize. But the reason people don’t realize this is because of him. Because he wears this chip on his shoulder, where its the media, its the fans, and to him, everyone’s against him,” he assured.