Is Stephen A. Smith fueling a Las Vegas Mavericks rumor? Unpacking the loud speculation and the team's rocky recent decisions.
DALLAS - Stephen A. Smith, long devoid of any journalistic guardrails, would like a word.
Well, a lot of words, actually.
Screamed at you loudly.
The Dallas Mavs are struggling to get things right. After trading Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers for a package centered around Anthony Davis a year ago, they just re-set (again) by dealing Davis to the Washington Wizards.
Some believe the combo of Kyrie Irving and Cooper Flagg, plus two first-round picks and cap room in 2026-27, can push Dallas toward respectability.
From where I sit, based on what I've seen from the new Miriam Adelson ownership group, with her son-in-law Patrick Dumont as the point man?
I'm not holding my breath.
Meanwhile, Stephen A. is surely out of breath after "reporting'' on ESPN on the possibility of the Mavericks leaving Dallas to move to Las Vegas.
“Is it possible that the owner for the Dallas Mavericks is looking to relocate the team to Vegas?” Smith said. “And it would be easier to do that if you acquired a team and they suck and you want to move on, rather than have a team that’s winning and you trying to skip town.''
"I’m just suspicious.”
This is not a new "suspicion.'' The billionaire Adelson, sits on a family fortune built in the casino business, as her late husband was the power behind the Sands Hotel concepts.
But hey ... Smith is ESPN's top guy. He's announcing this on SiriusXM. And at his core, he is (was?) an NBA beat writer.
So surely he's got a source.
Or he's done some research.
Something? Nope. Just loud irresponsibility.
“I’m just bringing that up,” Smith continued. “The Dallas Mavericks suck. They’re 31-49 since acquiring Anthony Davis. It’s not Jason Kidd’s fault. It’s not Cooper Flagg’s fault. But that damn ownership. Is it possible that you suck – you traded away Anthony Davis after trading away Luka Dončić cause you want to lose cause it would be easier for you to move the team to Vegas? It’s easier to move a losing team than it is a winning team. ...
"I’m just saying, my Spidey senses are tingling.”
So ... no sources. No research. Just a weak "Spiderman'' reference and a regurgitation of the Charlie Sheen baseball comedy "Major League.''
Only this time, Stephen A. is the "Wild Thing'' - because his employers (and, frankly, his audience) hold him to no standards.
Want some facts and some fact-based opinions? Here goes ...
1 - Right along with Adelson and her family purchasing a majority stake in the Mavericks from Mark Cuban in 2023, the Adelsons gobbled up land in DFW. Among the acquisitions is the Irving property on which the Dallas Cowboys' Texas Stadium used to stand.
2 - The vision for that land is no secret (except, it seems, to Stephen A.): As I've put it, Adelson wants a new arena in DFW - but only as the side piece to the real prize, an economic boom if/when gambling is legalized in Texas.
As I've phrased it, they don't want to bring Dallas' team to Las Vegas; they want to bring Las Vegas to Dallas.
"Las Vegas, Texas,'' you might call it.
3 - This is an anything-can-happen world, so that master plan could fall through. The ownership family isn't much into hoops; Adelson, 80, probably doesn't know if the ball is round or pointy, and Dumont may not, either.
I'm still convinced that the No. 1 reason they gave away Doncic is because they freaked out at the upcoming need to pay him a max contract of ....
But ...
4 - Adelson is tight with President Donald Trump; she gave $106 million to his 2024 campaign. She's tight with Governor Greg Abbott; she's given $1 million to his 2026 campaign.
Why would a lady in Nevada donate to a politician in Texas.
It's a favor-for-favor trade. ... in this case intended to result in speeding up the legalization of gambling in Texas.
5 - And finally: The NBA wants a franchise in Vegas. It will happen. But the NBA doesn't want that at the expense of not having a franchise in the No. 4 media market in America.
This Mavericks ownership was stupid in the way it traded Doncic. But these folks aren't stupid in the way they wield power on the way to printing money.
And rather than spout conspiracy theories, Stephen A. Smith would do a service to his audience by understanding that. And maybe even by "reporting'' that.