Even though he is no longer the majority owner of the Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban remains closely linked to the franchise. He is still a minority owner, but doesn’t have the final say as he once did for two decades. As such, many were very curious to hear how he felt when he found out about the Mavericks decision to trade superstar guard Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Many have blasted the Mavericks for the trade, not only because they dealt away one of the NBA’s best players in the prime of his career, to the Lakers no less, but also that they have continually thrown shots at Doncic about his weight, work ethic and conditioning on the way out.
There is also what the Mavericks got back in the trade, which is Cuban’s biggest issue. In an interview with Jonah Javad of WFAA in Dallas, Cuban said the Mavericks should’ve gotten a better deal from the Lakers:
“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.”
The fact that the Mavericks got just one first-round pick back from the Lakers has been a source of contention for many when discussing this trade. Anthony Davis’ notoriously spotty injury history was also a concern, but there are many players at a lesser level than Doncic who have fetched multiple first-round picks in trades, so Cuban’s thought process makes sense.
The idea of trading a player the caliber of Luka Doncic, in the prime of his career, is crazy to most, but if the Mavericks felt they needed to move on then that is their prerogative. But if you’re going to do so you have to get the best deal imaginable and in Cuban’s eyes, what they got back from the Lakers just wasn’t enough.
Lakers’ Luka Doncic jokingly told Mark Cuban to shut up after booing him
Mark Cuban still has a good relationship with Luka Doncic since the Mavericks traded him and he was in attendance a couple weeks ago at Crypto.com Arena when the Lakers hosted Dallas for the first time since the trade.
Cuban actually sported a pair of Luka 1 shoes to the game and made it a point to boo Doncic every time he touched the ball, eventually prompting the Lakers star to turn and smile at him before telling Cuban to ‘shut up.’
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