Former Mavericks majority owner Mark Cuban has finally opened up about the decision to trade Luka Dončić.
Dallas shocked the sports world when it traded Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a future first-round pick. As previously reported by The Dallas Express, many called the trade one of the most surprising decisions in sports history.
Cuban appeared on WFAA to discuss the aftermath of the trade and said that he does not play any role in the Mavericks’ decision-making.
“From a basketball perspective, I hear about it after the fact. I don’t hear about anything beforehand,” he explained, per WFAA.
“Yeah, there are parts that are not fun, obviously. Especially this month, or last month. But, y’know, they paid for that right.”
Cuban further discussed the trade itself, noting that the team could have waited and received more in exchange for the 25-year-old superstar.
“If the Mavs are going to trade Luka, that’s one thing,” he explained, per WFAA.
“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.”
Cuban was later asked whether he would have considered trading Dončić if he were still the majority owner of the Mavericks, providing little detail about whether he would have made a similar move.
“I’m not going to go there,” he said, per WFAA. “It doesn’t even matter.”
This interview makes Cuban one of many well-known figures to discuss the trade in recent weeks. Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson told The Dallas Express that he trusts the Mavericks to make the correct choice.
“I don’t think there’s any dispute that Luka Dončić is a unique talent. He’s a great player, a great basketball player. I think that’s beyond dispute. But here’s where I kind of fall on all organizations that are great ones or aspire to be great ones. It can’t ever be the case that any one person makes or breaks any organization. If that’s the case, then you don’t have an organization. You have a wing and a prayer,” explained the mayor.