Mark Cuban Reportedly Offered to Mediate for Luka Doncic, Nico Harrison Before Trade

Former Dallas Mavericks team governor Mark Cuban "volunteered to serve as an intermediary" amid discord between general manager Nico Harrison and franchise cornerstone Luka Dončić, according to ESPN's Tim MacMahon.

"But Harrison had succeeded in pushing Cuban completely out of basketball operations since Patrick Dumont took over as the team's governor and didn't want to cede any ground, sources said," McMahon wrote.

The newest report underlines how much Cuban's influence has waned behind the scenes since he sold a majority stake in the organization to the Adelson family.

Despite the fact he became only a minority stakeholder, Cuban signaled at the time of the transaction he'd remain an important figure on basketball-related matters.

Instead, team governor Patrick Dumont empowered Harrison to run the basketball side as he sees fit. That included dealing away Dončić, a generational talent and fan favorite.

The outcry following that trade was immediate and hasn't simmered in Dallas.

Cuban, meanwhile, has watched the fanbase turn against him as well since selling such a large share of the Mavericks is what helped set this all in motion.

In March, Cuban responded on Facebook to a former team employee who suggested he "should be run out of Dallas (via José Sánchez Córdova of the Dallas Morning News).

"Actually I fully expected to run basketball," he said. "The NBA wouldn't let me put it in the contract. They took it out. I thought (the Adelsons) would stick to their word because they didn't know the first thing about running a team. Someone obviously changed their mind."

Somebody with Cuban's business experience should know it doesn't matter unless it's in writing.