The trade that rocked the National Basketball Association, and the sports world as a whole, will come full circle on Wednesday. That’s when Luka Doncic will play his first game in Dallas as a visitor as the Lakers visit the Mavericks.
If it were up to Mark Cuban, former principal owner and current minority owner of Dallas, Doncic would still be in a Mavs uniform.
Cuban was as surprised as everyone else to learn that the team was shipping Doncic to Los Angeles for Anthony Davis and others, and Cuban is among the many who view the transaction as a mistake by the Mavericks.
Cuban went on the Stephen A. Smith Show to discuss the trade and what he believes the Mavericks failed to do as related to their former superstar.
“I think that was what was not considered as fully as it should have been: that you’ve gotta understand what people are like, what their backgrounds are like, who they are personally, what their families are like, how they interact with other people.”
The public reason the Mavs gave for shipping out a 25-year-old global superstar was Doncic’s lack of conditioning, as the franchise felt that he wasn’t committed enough to being his absolute best. Dallas saw Doncic’s mindset as not fitting in with what the team thought was important about a player’s mentality, despite that player having nearly unprecedented success through this point of his career.
It’s no secret that the mindsets of American players differ from those brought up in other countries, like Doncic from Slovenia, or Jokic from Serbia. Doncic may not physically look like the best-conditioned athlete in the world, but his play indicates he may be the best player in the world. Jokic also, infamously, loves racing horses back home during the offseason while other players prefer spending time in the gym.
According to Cuban, the Mavs’ brass failing to understand the differences in culture between American players and their European counterparts played a role in Doncic’s departure from Dallas.
“You have to understand where people are from in the world, that the culture you grow up in makes a difference as to who you are as an athlete, as a professional in any sport,“ Cuban continued. ”And as a businessperson, for that matter.
“I don’t think that we truly took the time to understand that, and I think that really led to this decision, and that really underpinned this decision. That lack of attention to that issue. And I think here we are.”
After being in charge for 23 years, Cuban sold the Mavs in December 2023 to Patrick Dumont and Miriam Adelson, though he still retains 27 percent of team ownership. He had no input whatsoever in the Doncic for Davis trade, but Mavericks GM, Nico Harrison, did call him to tell him about it before news broke.
“I was like, ‘You’re asking me, right? This isn’t done,’” Cuban recalled of his conversation with Harrison. “And he was like, ‘No, it’s done.’ And I was like, ‘OK. Nothing more to talk about. I wouldn’t have done this. And thanks for giving me the call.’”
It was the first time in NBA history that two reigning All-NBA players were traded for each other midseason, though it took a few days for the Lakers to benefit from the deal. Doncic was sidelined due to injury at the time of the trade and was inactive for Los Angeles’s first three games after the deal. However, he’s certainly made his presence felt since heading to Southern California, as the Lakers have gone 16-9 since the trade.
Los Angeles was the fifth seed in the Western Conference when the trade happened. Since then, it has the fifth-best record in the entire NBA and has jumped to No. 3 in the West. One of the team’s victories happened to come against the Mavericks, which was just Doncic’s fifth game in a Lakers uniform.
That Feb. 25 contest took place in Los Angeles. It would have been a homecoming for Davis, but he was injured and did not suit up. Doncic showed his former team what it’s missing. He recorded his first triple-double in a Lakers uniform with 19 points, a season-high of 15 rebounds and 12 assists as Los Angeles prevailed, 107-99.
Wednesday’s game is sure to be more emotional for Doncic as neither he, his teammates, Cuban, nor the Mavs fans wanted him to leave. It’s a new era for the franchise with Cuban simply a backseat passenger rather than steering the bus. Add in the fact that the trade made Doncic ineligible to sign a supermax extension—costing him over $100 million—and the motivation will be through the roof for the newest Lakers superstar, making this regular-season NBA game a must-watch for any sports fan.
