Emotions remain high regarding Luka Doncic’s trade from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers last February. He embodied that organization and took them to an NBA Finals less than one year prior. Now, he is with the Lakers and poised to bring an 18th championship to L.A.
With a full offseason to get his body right, Doncic appears to be in great shape and extremely motivated to dispel any negative narratives surrounding him. General manager Rob Pelinka opted to keep his trade chips heading into next season and relied on the buyout market to sign impact players on discounts in Deandre Ayton and Marcus Smart, giving Doncic some more help in the short-term to compete for the title.
Considering how things went down with the trade, a lot of people are rooting for Doncic to succeed to prove the Mavericks brass wrong. One person who is not wishing the purple and gold any success is former Mavericks majority owner Mark Cuban though as he joked that he and Doncic are still friends off the court but not on it, via Gil’s Arena:
“Off the court love Luka to death, on the court f*ck him.”
Mark Cuban jokes about his relationship with Luka Doncic pic.twitter.com/WhxgF69xoM
— Gil’s Arena (@GilsArenaShow) August 29, 2025
Cuban having no love lost for the Lakers is no surprised considering the battles his teams had with L.A. over the years before the Doncic trade.
Moving forward, emotions are understandably going to be high every time the Lakers and Mavericks square off. This makes for great entertainment, especially considering the fact that Doncic will always be looking to take it to his former team.
While Cuban is no longer the majority owner of the Mavericks, he is obviously still very invested in the team. He recently admitted that he feels he let the fanbase down by selling the team, paving the way for Doncic to be traded, but it’s clear that he will still be rooting for Dallas when squaring off with the Lakers.
Luka Doncic believes LeBron James’ experience will help Lakers
An interesting storyline to monitor this upcoming season is LeBron James and how he manages not being viewed as the No. 1 option on his team. Frankly, James has never been in this situation before and the hope is it does not cause any potential issues.
However, the four-time champion is a professional and respects the direction the Lakers are heading in. Currently, he is projected to remain a Laker for at least one more season and Luka Doncic believes James’ 20-plus years of experience will help them compete for a title.
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