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[Saba Sports News] After staying silent for over a month, Mark Cuban is finally speaking out about the Luka Doncic trade.
The former Dallas Mavericks majority owner addressed the blockbuster deal in an interview with Jonah Javad of WFAA on Thursday, admitting that he was “of course” angry about it. Cuban also criticized the return the Mavs received for their franchise star.
“If the Mavs are going to trade Luka, that’s one thing—just get a better deal,” Cuban said. “No disrespect to Anthony Davis, but I still firmly believe that if we had gotten four unprotected [first-round draft picks], Anthony Davis, and Max Christie, this would be a different conversation.”
Cuban makes a valid point. The Mavericks not only failed to create a bidding war for Doncic by limiting negotiations to the Lakers, but they also settled for a lackluster return—receiving only one future first-rounder along with Davis and Christie for Doncic, Maxi Kleber, and Markieff Morris.
While the Lakers only had one more tradable first-round pick beyond what they offered, they still managed to keep key assets like Austin Reaves and Dalton Knecht while landing a player of Doncic’s caliber.
Cuban, who owned the Mavericks from 2000-2023 before selling his majority stake to Miriam Adelson and Patrick Dumont, had previously explained his reasons for selling. While he retained a minority stake, he no longer has control over the team’s basketball operations. As a result, he was unaware of the Doncic trade until it was too late to intervene.
Since the deal, Cuban has dropped subtle hints about his displeasure, but in this latest interview, he makes it clear—he believes the Mavs mishandled the trade of their generational superstar.