Ex-Mavs executive Haralabos Voulgaris revisits Donald Trump's claim of Dallas owner's late husband stacking the deck for Marco Rubio

Ex-Mavs executive Haralabos Voulgaris brought up a claim made by the current U.S. President Donald Trump back when he was on the campaign trail for his first White House term. In 2015, Trump tweeted that casino mogul Sheldon Adelson was making sizable donations to one of Trump's Republican opponents for political purposes.

On Tuesday, Voulgaris quote-posted this Tweet with a one-word reaction:

"Oh," Voulgaris wrote.

Adelson, who died in 2021, was the husband of Miriam Adelson, the Israeli-American political donor who is a current majority owner of the Dallas Mavericks along with her son-in-law Patrick Dumont.

Trump's claim regarding Adelson's support in 2015 was hardly the first time that he threw a verbal jab at the Florida senator. In the lead-up to the Republican National Convention, Trump called Rubio a "kid" who struggled with handling personal finances.

A decade later, Rubio was nominated by Trump to be secretary of state and became the first official member of Trump's cabinet during his second stint in the White House.

The comment from Voulgaris regarding Trump's old Tweet comes just four months after the Mavs' former director of quantitative research and development attributed the Trump presidential victory to a certain billionaire supporter:

"Trump doesn't win this election if @elonmusk doesn't buy Twitter," Voulgaris tweeted in November 2024.

As audacious as Voulgaris' tweets are, he himself has been at the center of controversy. Prior to his departure from his role with the Mavs in September 2021, Voulgaris was said to have clashed with then-Dallas star Luka Doncic and wielded significant influence within the Mavs front office.

---

Columnist cites theory that Mavs leadership traded Luka Doncic as part of bid to legalize gambling in Texas

Dallas Mavericks have recently come under fire for trading away beloved star Luka Doncic. Shortly after Doncic was shipped to the Lakers, a columnist claimed to understand why the blockbuster deal was made.

In a Feb. 6 piece for Houston Chronicle, editorial writer Nick Powell cited a theory by Dallas-based lawyer Christopher Kratovil regarding the possible motive of Mavs majority owner — and influential casino owner — Miriam Adelson for moving Doncic:

"Kratovil believes that booting Doncic is Adelson's way of playing hardball. The trade has already turned off thousands of fans," Powell wrote. "If the team struggles, and ticket and merchandise sales also tank, it will make it easier for Adelson to, in Kratovil’s words, tell state lawmakers: 'Authorize our Mavs-centered casino or we’re off to Vegas baby.'"

Powell pointed out that Kratovil's theory could make sense, as Texas governor Greg Abbott uncharacteristically voiced out support for online sports betting shortly after the Doncic trade was finalized.