‘No plans’ to move Dallas Mavericks to Las Vegas, GM Nico Harrison tells employees on call
Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison told Mavericks employees on a Monday morning virtual call that the team has “no plans” to move to Las Vegas in the future, a source told Star-Telegram.
On a call that also featured Mavericks CEO Rick Welts fielding questions from the team staff, it was made clear by Harrison of the team’s intentions in Dallas and that Saturday night’s seismic trade that sent superstar Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers was not a step toward the team relocating.
Anthony Davis, who was acquired in the Doncic trade, made a brief appearance on the call while going through the process of his physical after arriving in Dallas.
The rumors about the Mavericks’ potential move to Las Vegas began when Mark Cuban sold the team to the families of Miriam Adelson and Sivan and Patrick Dumont, who are leaders of the Las Vegas Sands company that oversee casino business, in Nov. 2023.
At the time of the sale, Cuban said he wanted to partner with Las Vegas Sands in order to build a new arena in downtown Dallas that would include a hotel and casino.
While gambling isn’t legal in Texas, Adelson has pushed legislation to pass it in the Lone Star State.
According to the Associated Press, she pumped more than $2 million in 2023 into a political action committee, called Texas Sands, which donated lavishly to state legislators and swarmed the GOP-controlled state Capitol with lobbyists. She gave an additional $1 million separately to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.
With Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta having pushed the same legislation since he bought the team in 2017, the odds remain steep for the efforts to legalize casinos within state borders.
Some Mavericks fans have theorized that if ownership runs into too much resistance that they will move the team to Las Vegas. The NBA has expressed a strong desire to expand to Sin City, with LeBron James saying he’d have interest in buying an ownership stake when his playing career concludes.
This story was originally published February 3, 2025 at 3:41 PM.
