Mark Cuban expounded upon his new partnership with the Adelson and Dumont families after the NBA approved the sale of his majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks.

"Nothing's really changed except my bank account," Cuban said on Wednesday. "I feel really good. I think it's a great partnership. It's what the team needed on the court and off. I'll still be overseeing the basketball side of it, but having a partner like Patrick and Sivan and Miriam and their ability to build and to redevelop the arena and whatever comes next beyond that just puts us in a much better position to compete. That's all. That's what it comes down to."

Cuban will maintain a 27 percent stake of the Mavericks' ownership and serve as the team's alternate governor. He acknowledged that there is "no contractual language" in the purchase agreement regarding his authority over basketball operations and that ultimately Patrick Dumont would have "final say" as the team's governor.

Cuban does not expect Patrick Dumont to be heavily involved in basketball personnel decisions.

"He basically said, 'Just do what you got to do. I want to win,'" Cuban said. "I mean, financially, we're in a far better position this afternoon than we were yesterday afternoon to be able to compete like that. So what did [Houston Rockets owner] Tilman [Fertitta] say about being a middle-class billionaire? Those are facts in this day and age. It really matters. So having the partnership and having eventually new and deeper revenue sources allows us to compete better. I talked to Patrick a lot and Miriam and Sivan, and they're committed to winning."

The Christmas Day game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics averaged 5 million viewers, representing an 18% decline from last year's window. Despite the decline, it was the most watched game of the season thus far. 

At least four out of the five games saw a decline from last year, with figures not available for the Warriors-Nuggets matchup.

The opening game between the Bucks and Knicks averaged 2.49 million viewers, down 39% from the Sixers-Knicks last year.

The Mavs-Suns game was down 42% with 1.47 million viewers, with the Sixers-Heat down 73% with 1.3 million viewers.

All three NFL games on Monday averaged more than 27 million viewers. 

The Dallas Mavericks are planning to sign Brandon Williams to a two-way deal, sources told Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Williams, who appeared in 24 games for the Blazers last season, was averaging 23.9 points for the G League's Osceola Magic.

While Mark Cuban has been promised ongoing control of basketball operations with the Dallas Mavericks despite his sale of a majority stake to the Adelson and Dumont families, sources tell Marc Stein that the sale agreement does not contain specific language about Cuban's role.

It was previously reported that Cuban would run the basketball side of the Mavericks "forevermore." Sources tell Stein that the day-to-day basketball operations are not changing.

Cuban could indeed be in charge of basketball operations until he's ready to retire, but his position is at the very least not protected contractually. Cuban retains a 27 percent stake in the franchise, but is no longer governor.

Cuban is 65 and purchased the Mavericks in 2000.

Cuban hired Nico Harrison to run the front office of the Mavericks in 2021. Cuban has reportedly taken a smaller role within the front office in recent seasons.

The NBA Board of Governors has unanimously approved the sale of the Dallas Mavericks to the Adelson and Dumont families of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation. All 29 other teams voted in favor of the sale, which valued the Mavericks at $3.5 billion. The ultimate team valuation is expected to be between $4 billion to $5 billion when factoring the Sands' financial pledge to build a new arena.

Mark Cuban agreed to sell his majority stake in the franchise while retaining 27 percent ownership and control of basketball operations.

The parties hope to eventually build a new arena with a hotel and casino in Dallas.

Luka Doncic and Giannis Antetokounmpo have been named the NBA's Players of the Week for Week 8.

Doncic averaged 36.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 11.5 assists as the Dallas Mavericks went 3-1.

Antetokounmpo averaged 36.0 points, 12.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists as the Milwaukee Bucks went 4-0.

Mark Cuban will retain a 27 percent stake in the Dallas Mavericks, sources tell Marc Stein. The report follows Sportico indicating that Cuban would retain approximately a 25 percent stake in the franchise.

Cuban will retain control of basketball operations under the Adelson family.

Stein's report points out that Cuban's ownership stake will remain larger than that of Joe Lacob's interest in the Golden State Warriors. Lacob, however, is the governor of the Warriors.

The Detroit Pistons are expected to evaluate trade options, as their losing streak has stretched to 23 consecutive games. Several Pistons veterans will be discussed in trade talks, but one younger player is also drawing interest around the league.

Detroit big man Isaiah Stewart has drawn trade interest from the Boston Celtics, Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks. All three teams are contenders that could be looking for additional frontcourt depth.

One challenge in trading for Stewart is that he's poison pill restricted. Because Stewart signed a four-year, $60 million extension that will kick in next season, his outgoing and incoming salaries differ in a trade.

Stewart counts as $5.3 million in outgoing salary on the Pistons side. For a team acquiring Stewart, he will count for $13.1 million, which is the average of his current salary, plus his four-year extension.

Kyrie Irving was ruled out for the Dallas Mavericks' game on Thursday against the Minnesota Timberwolves due to a right heel contusion.

Irving is in a protective boot and is using crutches.

There is no definitive timetable for Irving's return.

Mark Cuban will retain roughly a 25 percent ownership stake in the Dallas Mavericks following his sale to the Adelson and Dumont families. 

The Mavericks are valued by Sportico at $4.03 billion, but Cuban sold the stake in the franchise at a $3.5 billion valuation. 

The new owners of the Mavericks are hoping to lobby Texas to legalize gambling within the state and then build a new arena attached to a hotel and casino in Dallas.

As part of the unconventional deal, Cuban reportedly will run the basketball operations of the franchise "forevermore."