Mark Cuban rips Dallas Mavericks’ return in short sale of Luka Doncic to LA Lakers
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Mark Cuban retained 27.7 per cent of the Dallas Mavericks after selling the majority stake in 2024, but his involvement with the team is no longer a factor in any team decisions.
PHOTO: JAMIE KELTER DAVIS/NYTIMES
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DALLAS – Former Mavericks majority owner Mark Cuban chimed in on the controversial Luka Doncic deal for the first time and left little doubt he sides with legions of miffed Dallas fans.
“If the Mavs are going to trade Luka, that’s one thing,” he said in an interview in Dallas on March 7.
“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.”
Cuban retained 27.7 per cent of the team after selling the majority stake in 2024, but he said his involvement with the Mavericks is no longer a factor in any team decisions. He would not say whether he would have traded Doncic.
“I’m not going there. It doesn’t matter,” he added.
He was at the front of the decision-making line in 2018 when the Mavericks acquired Doncic on draft night in a trade with the Atlanta Hawks, who dealt Doncic for the Mavs’ first-rounder, Trae Young.
Doncic was traded by general manager Nico Harrison to the Los Angeles Lakers in February in one of the most stunning transactions in National Basketball Association (NBA) history, with shockwaves still reverberating in Texas.
With Doncic gone and Davis hurt in his debut with the team, the Mavericks played point guard Kyrie Irving a league-high number of minutes for a 30-day stretch before he suffered a season-ending ACL tear.
Irving turns 33 later in March.
In return for Doncic, Dallas acquired Davis, Christie and a 2029 first-round pick from the Lakers on Feb 1.
By comparison, the cost for the Phoenix Suns to acquire Kevin Durant two years before the Doncic deal – Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder and four unprotected future first-round picks and a pick swop in 2028. Phoenix also received T.J. Warren.
The Lakers also received forwards Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris. Davis might not play another game this season. If so, he totalled 31 minutes in a Dallas uniform in 2025.
Dallas claimed they were trading Doncic because the organisation doubted his interest in re-signing as a free agent.
The conundrum was familiar for Cuban, who likened the scenario to deciding to move on from popular point guard Steve Nash.
“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,” he said.
“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.”
Dallas (32-32) are 10th in the Western Conference following a 122-111 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on March 7.
In the Western Conference, Oklahoma City Thunder extended their lead at the top of the standings after defeating the Portland Trail Blazers 107-89 at home. The second-placed Lakers are now 11 games behind the Thunder (52-11).
In the East, the Cleveland Cavaliers stretched their unbeaten streak to 13 games with a nail-biting 118-117 road win over the struggling Charlotte Hornets.
The Cavs improved to 53-10 and are top by eight games. REUTERS, AFP
