Mark Cuban may have stepped away from day-to-day decision-making with the Mavericks, but that doesn’t mean he agreed with the team’s biggest move of the summer. On a recent podcast, the former owner revealed that he only learned about the Luka Doncic/Anthony Davis trade after it was already completed, and he wasn’t happy with how it went down.
“I get a text from Nico or maybe he called me, and I called him back, and I thought he was asking me, ‘What do you think about this?’ Then I realized he was telling me that this was done,” said Cuban on the ‘Road Trippin’ podcast. “Obviously, I was not happy at all. And then I called the owner, Patrick, and I’m like, ‘What? ‘, and he gave me basically what Nico told him, and I was like, this is gonna be a mistake.”
As Cuban revealed, he was completely shocked by the trade and had to call the Mavericks’ new governor, Patrick Dumont, just to confirm what was happening. At the time, Cuban called it a mistake, and the term carries extra weight coming from the franchise’s most iconic former owner.
It was under Cuban’s watch that the Mavericks won their first championship in 2011. It was also under Cuban that the franchise drafted Luka Doncic in 2018. He picked Luka as the future of the franchise and cemented him as their center star after finishing fourth in MVP voting in his second year in the NBA (28.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 8.8 assists per game).
But when Cuban sold away his majority stake, the Mavericks decided to go in a completely new direction. While Cuban claims he was supposed to still run the team, his voice was silenced by Nico Harrison, who orchestrated the Luka Doncic trade that sent the whole basketball world reeling.
While Cuban may not have been the controlling owner at the time, it still must have felt like a gut punch to hear about the trade after it was already done. Cuban was not consulted on the deal, and when he actively disapproved, his role was effectively minimized.
It’s like the Mavericks knew that Cuban would disapprove, and it’s why they only told him after it was already done. To his credit, the Mavericks fans felt the same way, and many of them revolted in the days and weeks following the deal. Even now, there are feelings of betrayal toward the Mavericks, not just for Luka and the fans, but also for Cuban, who had to watch his former team go completely against his wishes.
While the trade did bring in Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and draft compensation, the Mavericks have yet to make a run that will justify the move. Meanwhile, Luka is in the best shape of his life, catching all kinds of compliments as he prepares for his first full season with the Lakers.
While Cuban believes the Mavericks will regret trading Doncic so early, he has made it known where he stands. As a Laker now, Luka is considered the enemy in Cuban’s eyes as he embraces the Mavs’ new situation, built around a team-first culture and a strong defensive identity.
For Cuban, the sting isn’t just about losing Doncic, it’s about losing control of the team he built from the ground up. Even without his stamp of approval, the Mavericks are moving forward with a new identity, but only time will tell if their gamble pays off or if Cuban’s warning proves prophetic.
