When the Dallas Mavericks stunned the basketball world by trading Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers, it was a sign the team had changed the way it does business.
Under Mark Cuban, who remains a minority owner after selling a controlling stake to the Adelson family at a team valuation of $3.5 million, the Mavericks kept Dirk Nowitzki for 21 seasons. Many expected Dončić to have his own longevity under Cuban.
So when news of the trade broke, it was quickly confirmed that Cuban had no part in it. Now, a month later, Cuban has provided a full reaction to the trade in an interview with WFAA. He’s about as little a fan of it as you can be while still being in business with the people who did it.
Cuban said he was “of course” upset about the trade, but didn’t criticize the idea of moving Dončić so much as how much Dallas general manager Nico Harrison got for Dončić:
“If the Mavs are going to trade Luka, that’s one thing. Just get a better deal. No disrespect to Anthony Davis, but I still firmly believe if we had gotten four unprotected No. 1s and Anthony Davis and Max Christie, this would be a different conversation.”
The full Dončić return was star big man Anthony Davis, bench guard Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick from the Lakers. Davis got hurt in his Mavericks debut and is still out, while Christie has been a pleasant surprise with 12.9 points per game.
Cuban declined to say whether or not he would have traded Dončić if he were still in charge:
“I’m not going to go there. Doesn’t matter.”
What made fans most upset about the trade was the difference in age between its two biggest assets. At 25 years old, Dončić was one of the most valuable trade assets in the sport. Had every team known he was available, someone would likely have outbid the Lakers. Instead, Harrison reportedly called up the Minnesota Timberwolves about Anthony Edwards, then zeroed in on the Lakers.
The result was a trade that went down with no warning, for both the players and the fans. Harrison clearly prioritized secrecy with the dealings, likely with the knowledge that a backlash could have killed a deal he wanted to make. He even reportedly accepted a smaller package from the Lakers because he wouldn’t let them talk to Dončić about a possible extension, as that would have tipped the player off.
So the Mavericks got Davis, who is still a great player at 31 years old, but he is also injury prone and mightily struggled to lead a team while with the New Orleans Pelicans. It was only with LeBron James that Davis won a championship with the Lakers. Not helping matters was Kyrie Irving tearing his ACL and ripping the last remaining hope out of Dallas’ season.
Dončić and the Lakers, meanwhile, entered Thursday on a seven-game win streak and the No. 2 seed in the West.
Cuban did note the team went through something similar with Steve Nash, who left the team for the Phoenix Suns in free agency in 2004:
“I went through this before with when Steve Nash left and then won two MVPs. The good news is that we went to the Finals and won a championship. So I’ve been through something — but there wasn’t social media back then, so it wasn’t quite the same. You’re going to make mistakes. I think the biggest challenge the Mavs have right now is there’s nobody who’s really outgoing to communicate. It’s not so much what you do, it’s how you communicate why you do what you do.”
Unfortunately for the Mavericks, the seeds aren’t exactly planted for long term success. The whole point of the trade was landing a veteran player who could help them win now with Irving, but this season is already lost. They can only hope both players, as well as Klay Thompson, are in prime form next season.
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