That Mavericks trade

I’m not a sports person. I like my Houston teams, from when I was growing up; I have a soft spot for my alma mater in sports even though their football team was terrible when I was a student; and I cheered for the Rangers along with my mother-in-law because she was a fan. I don’t have much interest in the Cowboys (see: grew up in Houston) but the Mavericks haven’t earned my ire, at least not over sports.

When Miriam Adelson of the Sands casino conglomeration bought the team, I cast some side-eye in her general direction. As her wikipedia article notes, she’s not just a gambling billionaire, she’s also a huge financial and political supporter of Donald Trump and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from him. I’m not a huge fan of the billionaire class in general but at least Mark Cuban seemed to be spending some of his money toward the public good.

Jump forward to this weekend, when the Mavericks executed a complex three-way trade sending Luca Doncic to the Lakers in exchange for two other players and a 2029 draft pick. I don’t know much about the players involved, other than that Doncic is a local favorite, but I do know he’s expensive and has a long future and it seems like they’re getting cheaper players, since one of them will be no salary until he’s drafted four years down the road. So it seems to me like this is about money.

Here’s the thing about Adelson and money: she’s a casino person. Gambling people have been trying to get casinos in Texas for decades. It’s an open secret that Adelson bought the Mavericks as part of a pitch to bring a casino complex with a new NBA stadium to Arlington. The Mavericks’ lease on their current home, American Airlines Center, expires in 2031, so it’s about time for the push for a new stadium to start. Also, this is a Lege year, so it’s a good time for the push to make a casino happen that would be necessary. Adelson has probably already contributed her limit to the local folks whose vote she’d need; it’s time to get out there and put some money down on other legislators. She just had the team unload an expensive asset in favor other athletes, including one who won’t be on payroll for several seasons yet. That’s got to help her money quest.

I personally don’t know how she can get around the Christian Dominionists and other reactionaries who run the state Senate and have a strong presence in the House, but that’s just me. I could be wrong about what Adelson is thinking, or about what Dan Patrick is thinking (pretty sure gambling isn’t on his radar this session). Maybe she’s ruining the team to send it to Las Vegas, which is another rumor I’ve read online. But the timing sure seems right for pushing for some big change, and the Arlington rumor seems a lot more likely than moving the Mavs to Vegas.