Former Dallas majority owner Mark Cuban has offered his unfiltered thoughts on the team's blockbuster deal to ditch 2024 West Finals MVP Luka Doncic.
Mark Cuban gets honest about Mavericks' blockbuster Luka Doncic trade originally appeared on The Sporting News
Former Dallas Mavericks majority owner Mark Cuban has offered his unfiltered thoughts on the team's stunning blockbuster midseason deal to ditch 2024 Western Conference Finals MVP guard Luka Doncic.
Doncic, now 26, was shipped out to West rival the Los Angeles Lakers for oft-hurt 10-time All-Star center Anthony Davis — who got hurt right away — wing Max Christie and an unprotected 2029 first-round draft pick.
The Mavericks also sent out veteran center/power forward Maxi Kleber, who was grappling with a foot injury at the time and didn't return until the end of the playoffs' first round, and former 2020 Lakers champion Markieff Morris. Both clubs traded away a 2025 second-round pick to the Utah Jazz so L.A. could dump the salary of young point guard Jalen Hood-Schifino.
Mavericks Fans Struck Back
Dallas general manager Nico Harrison's decision to (a) ditch a beloved five-time All-NBA superstar in his absolute prime, fresh off a Finals appearance, for an inferior player and (b) bring back just one draft pick left pundits and fans apoplectic.
The Mavericks faithful protested the move outside of American Airlines Arena, in the deal's immediate aftermath.
Speaking on the "DLLS Mavs Podcast" Tuesday, Cuban once again revealed how upset he had been to hear of the deal. Cuban sold his majority 73 percent stake in the franchise for a reported $3.5 billion. He had bought the team for $285 million in 2000.
Per Alex Schiffer of Front Office Sports, Cuban still owns a 27.7 percent share of the Mavericks.
Mark Cuban reacts to the Luka Doncic trade:
— DLLS Mavs (@DLLS_Mavs) August 26, 2025
"I felt like I let people down by not being there." pic.twitter.com/tyvO1nLPme
"We all were hurt when Luka got traded — me as much as anyone, because I felt like I let people down by not being there," Cuban said. "But what's done is done."
After the deal, first Davis and then nine-time All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving both went down with major injuries. Davis returned before the end of the season, but Irving had torn his ACL, and is likely to still miss significant time in 2025-26.
Without either star available much down the season's home stretch, the Mavericks fell into the play-in tournament, and couldn't advance beyond that to actually make the playoffs proper.
That wound up being a lucky break, however, as Dallas stumbled into the No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft, which the club used on no-brainer top prospect Cooper Flagg, a former All-American Duke forward.
"And we got Cooper, the basketball gods were looking down on us. Coop's the real deal. He's not even 19 years old, "Cuban noted. "He can literally, depending on science, play for the Mavs for 25 years. I'm guessing, if we do well and win, those sentiments will change."
When asked about his decision to sell his majority share of the team, Cuban got honest about his life-planning, suggesting that he never intended to hand down that level of responsibility to his children.
"I'm sorry, I had to do what is best for my life and my family."
— DLLS Mavs (@DLLS_Mavs) August 26, 2025
Mark Cuban speaks on selling the Dallas Mavericks. pic.twitter.com/RO1rrpSIpf
"I'm sorry, I had to do what's best for my life and my family... You think I was going to live to 137 and just run the Mavs?" the 67-year-old joked. "Father Time is undefeated, and so something was going to happen at some point, no matter what. And I just wanted to do it on my terms."
This year's Mavericks are paying big money to three aging Hall of Famers, all 32 or older with significant injury history and playoff mileage. Davis and Irving remain All-Star-level talents when healthy, but sharpshooting wing Klay Thompson has transitioned to the role player stage of his career after suffering Achilles and ACL tears that kept him out of the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons entirely. The team also features exciting young pieces like Flagg and 2023 lottery pick center Dereck Lively II.
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Category: Basketball
