Many Dallas Mavericks fans wish Mark Cuban still owned the team today. If he did, the team would most likely not be in the predicament it’s in right now.

However, Cuban sold his majority shares and surrendered control of the team’s basketball operations in 2023. Based on his recent exclusive interview for WFAA, he has no regrets about his decision to sell. In fact, what’s happening to the Mavs right now is the very reason why he decided to sell the franchise.

“I don’t want my kids to end up in this exact position, at some level, if they made a mistake,” said Cuban. “I mean literally imagine if I didn’t sell and my kids have taken over and they make a mistake like this.”

Cuban wanted to protect his kids

Last month, the Mavs’ new ownership shocked the world — including Mark — when they sent their franchise player to the Los Angeles Lakers for an Anthony Administered package. Since then, Dallas has experienced one disaster after another.

AD got hurt in his Mavs debut and has not played since. Kyrie Irving suffered an ACL tear after playing extended minutes since the trade.

More importantly, the fans’ uproar has been even bigger than anyone expected, with many still expressing their disappointment on-site at the American Airlines Arena or online — the Mavericks have lost over  since the trade.

“It’s just that social media has changed things dramatically,” added Cuban. “And they grew up with social media; all their friends are connected to them on social media. To log in and scroll through your feed and just what we’re seeing now, you know, seeing what happened with the Jones family, you know, continuously, I don’t want my kids to go through that.”

Selling the Mavs wasn’t just about business

Cuban and his wife, Tiffany Stewart, have three kids. Although the eldest, Alexis, is only 22 years old and may not be interested in being a team owner, Mark talked about not wanting his children to when the time comes for him to step away.

“In a social media world today, the critics of the ownership of any professional sports team can be brutal,” Cuban said via GQ. “I don’t want my kids potentially feeling the pressure to walk into my spot as owner and try to deal with that.”

When GQ interviewed Cuban three months ago, nobody imagined — not even in their wildest dreams — that the Mavs would trade a generational talent like Luka. But they did, and the backlash has been brutal.

Today, Mark’s words are prophetic and one can only imagine how GM Nico Harrison and team owner Patrick Dumont are dealing with the hate they continue to get one month after the Luka trade.