The NBA world still can't believe that the Dallas Mavericks traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers, especially for as minimal of a return as they got. No discredit to Anthony Davis and Max Christie, but they feel like pennies on the dollar for a 25 (now 26) year-old who made five All-NBA First Teams in his first six seasons.
Dallas has, unsurprisingly, only gone downhill since the trade due to injuries, bad vibes, and probably some karma. And for the first time since the trade, minority owner Mark Cuban has made public comments about the trade.
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Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic
Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) reacts during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
Although Cuban is no longer the majority owner of the Mavericks or has a say in anything they do, he still has a lot of opinions about the team. He made an exclusive interview with WFAA, finally revealing his true thoughts about the trade.
Cuban first said he was upset about the trade, and it's more about the details than the trade itself. "If the Mavs are going to trade Luka, that's one thing," Cuban said. "Just get a better deal. I still firmly believe if we had gotten four unprotected number ones and Anthony Davis and Max Christie, this would be a different conversation."
Instead, the Mavs received Davis, Christie, and one unprotected first-round pick in exchange for Doncic. As great of a player as Davis is, he's on the wrong side of 30 and has an extensive injury history, which reared its head 31 minutes into his debut in Dallas.
He was also asked if this deal would've been made if he had been the majority owner of the team since he sold the team a little over a year ago, to which he just responded, "I'm not going to go there. It doesn't even matter."
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