Adam Silver Says Mavs Aren't Leaving Dallas, No 'Ulterior Motives' for Luka Trade

NBA commissioner Adam Silver said the Luka Dončić trade was not part of a bigger plan by the Dallas Mavericks to potentially relocate.

Appearing on Thursday's episode of The Pat McAfee Show, Silver explained the Mavs "aren't going anywhere" because they are trying to build a new arena in Dallas and there were no "ulterior motives" behind the move to send Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers.

There have been whispers about the Dumont family, whose purchase of the Mavs from Mark Cuban was approved in December 2023, potentially looking at moving the franchise to Las Vegas.

Vegas has frequently been cited as a potential expansion city for the NBA, with LeBron James teasing potentially joining the ownership group if it were to happen when his playing career comes to an end.

It's not hard to make the connection between the Mavs and Las Vegas. Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont is president and chief operating officer of casino and resort company Las Vegas Sands Corp.

Dumont has consistently shut down talks that the Mavericks are looking to move. On Feb. 9, seven days after the Dončić trade, Dumont told Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News in no uncertain terms the franchise isn't relocating.

"I’m not sure where this is coming from. I appreciate people asking. Our family happens to live in Las Vegas, but we have investments all over the world. And the Dallas Mavericks is the team we bought. We had options to buy other teams in the past, but Dallas was the city that we wanted to be in, and that’s where it’s going to be."

While one would assume that having a superstar player like Dončić on the roster would make it easier for the franchise to get approval for a new arena, that doesn't seem to be an issue for the Mavs right now.

Colin Salao of Front Office Sports noted on March 18 that the Irving Zoning Commission approved in a 5-4 vote to turn a 1,001-acre development area near the site of where the former Dallas Cowboys' stadium was into a mixed-use development.

According to Salao, the Las Vegas Sands Corporation has expressed plans to use that area for a new resort that would include an arena for at least 15,000 people and a theater that would seat at least 4,000.

The Mavs have played in Dallas since their founding in 1980. They have played in the NBA Finals three times in 45 seasons, with their lone championship to this point coming during the 2010-11 campaign.