Under Mark Cuban’s leadership, the Dallas Mavericks went from a relatively small market NBA team to a powerhouse.This transformation was perhaps best epitomized by their stunning NBA championship win in 2011, when a Dirk Nowitzki-led Mavs defeated Miami Heat‘s ‘Big Three’ of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh in a six-games thriller.Mark Cuban’s tenure at the helm of the Dallas Mavericks was the team’s most successful spellGettyCuban, who is worth an estimated $6.8 billion per Forbes, purchased the Mavericks in 2000 for about $285 million. Just over two decades later – 24 years to be exact – he sold his majority stake in the team to Patrick Dumont and Miriam Adelson for $3.5 billion, leaving himself with just a 27 percent stake in the team.That sharp increase, even when accounting for inflation, in value showcased just how much of an influence Cuban had on building the Mavericks into the NBA organization that they are too. Following the sale, Cuban was very quickly pushed out of being able to make any decisions as it pertained to the franchise, including the blockbuster trade of Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis that sent shockwaves around the Association. During an appearance on the Build or Break podcast with Shark Tank colleague Daniel Lubetzky, Cuban was asked about how he dealt with the Doncic trade, to which his initial response was, “Not very well. Not very well at all.”He opened up about how he didn’t like how things went after selling previous companies like MicroSolutions to CompuServe, and Broadcast.com to Yahoo, businesses he had spent years building up before seeing them essentially stripped down for parts.These types of disappointments admittedly took a while for him to get over, but when it came to the Doncic trade, he felt more for the fans of the team than anything else. “With the Mavs, it was like, okay – I’m not going to get into the details of what I expected versus what happened – but obviously trading Luka and a bunch of other things,” Cuban said. “And I literally would remind myself that inner dialogue, look, you went through with MicroSolutions, you went through it with broadcast.com. “The Mavs are one more example, and it’s not necessarily a bad thing because Cost Plus Drugs is just blowing up and changing healthcare, and that’s more important than basketball.:But I felt really bad because I felt like I let Mavs fans down. It wasn’t so much the Mavericks per se, it was how Mavs fans feel about the Mavericks and the expectations they had, and just some of the stupid s*** that went down.Nowitzki led the Mavericks to the 2011 NBA championship under the ownership of CubanAFPCuban hated how things went down when the Mavs traded Luka Doncic after he sold his majority stakeGetty“And so it [the Mavericks] was a big part of my identity … but it’s not the same as it was, and not as important as I thought it would be.”Cuban ‘learned some hard lessons’ following Mavs saleBack in May, Cuban candidly expressed having some regrets over selling his Mavericks stake to Dumont and Adelson, especially after seeing how they’ve gone about their business since taking over. “If there was any chance of being able to do that anymore, I would,” Cuban told Front Office Sports in May, when asked whether he wanted to buy the team back. “But that’s just not the game anymore.“A bunch of people had contacted me. They weren’t happy with the way things were, and I was like, ‘Look, if you can get them to sell, I’ll be more than happy to contribute my equity etc. and help.’“But I didn’t expect that to materialize. I told them that I didn’t think it would happen, that I didn’t think the Adelsons had any interest in selling. And, they don’t.”He further expressed that the way things transpired after the sale of his stake in the Mavericks broke him, but eventually helped him build himself into a stronger leader. The Mavericks look a completely different franchise under Dumont and Adelson (pictured)GettyCuban has expanded his sports portfolio after buying stakes in the CEBL and MLB, and is exploring options to enter the NFLGetty“I learned some hard lessons. I’m a really trusting partner. If I shake your hand, I mean it,” Cuban revealed, remaining coy over what really happened behind the scenes. “So yeah, that was a first for me.”After it became clear that he was no longer as involved in the Mavericks as he once was, the billionaire took his money elsewhere and invested in the Brampton Honey Badgers, who compete in the Canadian Elite Basketball League. He also purchased, alongside Harbinger Sports Group, a minority stake in the Las Vegas-bound Athletics MLB franchise. But Cuban remains open to bolstering his sports portfolio further, and delving into NFL ownership, and has reportedly engaged in some discussions with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones over the possibility of being able to purchase a stake in the team. Sign up for talkSPORT Stateside, the YouTube channel dedicated to passionate US Sports fans. Will Gavin, Brian T. Smith, former NFL star Efe Obada and a collection of special guests debate the biggest talking points across the NFL, soccer, NBA and more.