Jun 27, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA: Dallas Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban watches the game between the Dallas Wings and the Indiana Fever during the first quarter at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Mark Cuban Almost Bought Blazers: Report

Originally posted on Portland Trail Blazers on SI
By Alex Kirschenbaum | Last updated Sep 14, 2025 6:00 PM ET

The Portland Trail Blazers were almost procured by one of the most outspoken NBA owners this century.

When longtime Portland owner Paul Allen passed away in 2018, his sister Jody took over most of his properties, under strict instructions to sell his sports teams. Eventually, Jody Allen agreed to a massive deal — worth a reported $4.25 billion — to a new group led by Tom Dundon, owner of the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes.

During a new episode of the "Road Trippin'" podcast, former Dallas Mavericks majority owner Mark Cuban — recently made roughly $3.5 billion richer when he sold his 73 percent controlling stake in the franchise — revealed that he considered buying into Portland when the team hit the market this year, when Dundon reached out about him joining Dundon's group.

“And actually the funny thing is the guy who is buying Portland, Tom Dundon, is a really good friend of mine, we hooped together for the last 25 years,” Cuban said. “He’s a hooper, he's going to really be into it... He’s not as outgoing as I am, and he runs the NHL team in that kind of way. We had a real brief conversation, but I’m like unless I can be majority owner, I’m not going to do it.”

Cuban, it should be noted, is still a minority owner of the Mavericks, as Doyle Rader of Forbes reports that Cuban still has a 27 percent stake in the club.

From Celeb Mavericks Owner to.. Celeb Blazers Owner?

Cuban had originally taken over the Mavericks in January 2000, overseeing the entire Dirk Nowitzki era and what wound up being most of the Luka Doncic era, winning the franchise's lone title in 2011. He sold off that controlling stake midway through the 2023-24 season, only to see Dallas make its first NBA Finals appearance since that championship run.

Dallas shockingly traded Doncic, a superstar in his prime at age 25 (at the time), to the Los Angeles Lakers midway through the subsequent 2024-25 season. The Mavericks notched a middling return and fell into the draft lottery. In a new interview, Cuban revealed what he'd change about the deal if he could do it again.

“I don’t regret selling the team, I regret how I did it,” Cuban said. “Would I still sell the team? Yes, for all the reasons that I’ve said 100 times. Would I do it the same way? Absolutely not. I would’ve put it out to bid, but I didn’t so it doesn’t matter. I got along great with them, they gave me their man of the year award.”