Dallas Mavericks owner Patrick Dumont explained at a speaking engagement last month that the Luka Dončić trade was about the “future” and creating the “most competitive team.”
Dumont was a guest at the Real Estate Council’s Bank of Texas Speaker Series on Feb. 13 and discussed business matters as well as the shocking trade of Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis.
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“Tough decisions are never easy and a part of leadership is looking at risk and looking at all the factors of a decision and being willing to act at that time and look to the long-term and not only think about the short-term or how it may be received immediately,” said Dumont.
Dumont noted how the Mavericks were 26-23 at the time of the trade and that teams that were around them in the Western Conference standings were improving. Now that we are over a month into the Dončić-for-Davis swap, he feels the team is ready to begin an upward trend.
“For us going into the trade deadline last year, we were not competitive, if you recall, we were not a playoff-bound team and we were able to do some things to reconstruct the roster and enable the team to become very competitive, and after the trade deadline last year, we actually had the best record in basketball. Which was a big accomplishment and we got to the championship games and we didn’t win and so we had to decide: how do we get better?” Dumont said.
“What can we do to improve our team? And so we looked at our trajectory during the season and realized that we did not get better, but the teams that we competed against, some of which we beat, did get better. So this was a decision about the future. If you look at our roster today and who we have, we feel like we position ourselves to be incredibly competitive against the best teams in the NBA.”
In an interview with the Dallas Morning News last month, Dumont cited “character” and “culture” as reasons for the trade and said there were no financial motivations behind it.
Since the trade, the fanbase has turned sour against the organization; Davis has played only one game after suffering an adductor injury; Kyrie Irving has been lost for the season with a torn ACL; and the Mavericks have a 7-10 record, while Dončić is averaging 24.5 points, seven rebounds and eight assists for the 40-23 Lakers, who sit fourth in the conference.
Dumont described making the trade as “hard” and “emotional,” and he understands the fans’ frustrations. Going forward, he’s hoping the organization can win back those disillusioned supporters.
“I heard from the fans, I respect their voices, I listened, we know that this wasn’t easy,” Dumont said. “If we lost any of our fans’ trust, it was hard and I apologize, but I hope over time we can regain that trust through hard work, and that’s our plan. And hopefully people will believe in the long run that what we did was the right decision. Time will tell.”
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