The deal between the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks sending Luka Doncic to the purple and gold is widely considered one of the worst trades in the history of sports. The Mavericks have already rid the team of both the person who made the trade and the primary piece sent back in the trade. It’s so historically bad, that President Donald Trump even had a comment on it.
Trump spoke at the American Airlines Center in Dallas on Wednesday night, and went on a tangent about the Mavericks and their decision to trade Doncic to L.A.:
Donald Trump — at a speech at the Mavericks’ American Airlines Center — spoke on them trading Luka Doncic
“I don’t understand the trade… It’s not going to go down as the greatest trade in the history of sports. It might go down as the worst trade in the history of sports.” pic.twitter.com/Z8PYVz2eNv
— Fullcourtpass (@Fullcourtpass) September 10, 2026
The President of the United States commenting on a trade made by the Mavericks over 18 months ago shows just how bad a deal it was. The NBA world was stunned when the news broke, with many even assuming that the first post breaking it was fake or that the account had been hacked. But it was real, and the Mavericks willingly dealt their superstar to L.A. for pennies on the dollar.
Now, the Lakers can build around Doncic for years to come while the Mavericks are still searching for a new identity having already traded Anthony Davis, the main piece they got in that deal.
The trade was already going to go down in history as one of the worst, but Trump making a comment on it — while in Dallas — only further shows the infamy of the trade.
ESPN to televise two Lakers preseason games
Doncic is now a Laker and that is just part of the NBA world. He leads a new-look Lakers team into a highly-anticipated 2026-27 season that begins with preseason action. The Lakers will have two of their preseason games televised on ESPN before a regular season that includes the league maximum of 34 nationally televised games.
Their home games at Crypto.com Arena against the Sacramento Kings on Oct. 8 and Denver Nuggets on Oct. 16 will be aired on ESPN and ESPN2 as part of a five-game preseason slate on the network. It’s unclear how many of the star players will play in all of these games, but it could hopefully be a chance to see Doncic and Austin Reaves in action.
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