
via Imago
Jan 15, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (right) and Mark Cuban (left) argue a call during the second half of the game against the New Orleans Pelicans at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

via Imago
Jan 15, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (right) and Mark Cuban (left) argue a call during the second half of the game against the New Orleans Pelicans at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
“I didn’t end up here by mistake.” The breakup saga between Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks was long, messy, and brutal on both sides. No one expected the six-foot-seven point guard to be traded away, let alone to the Los Angeles Lakers. And the rumors that followed? It was almost like a smear campaign! Reports emerged about Dallas having issues with Doncic’s conditioning and fitness, and then clips did too.
A video from the Mavs’ finals run in 2024 went viral during the trade. After handing out a gentleman’s sweep to Antman and the Wolves, Luka Doncic was seen with a beer in hand while talking to the media. Dallas executive and former NBA player, Michael Finley, was standing next to him and wanted none of that to happen. He quietly took the drink away from Luka, which the star wasn’t too happy about.
However, former Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban had an interesting perspective about this clip. “I was standing right there. I was fine with it, right? And it wasn’t because you don’t want him to drink it, it’s because there were cameras everywhere. [It’s] just not cool when a player is doing an interview with a beer.” Cuban revealed on an episode of Gil’s Arena, before dropping a major bombshell. “So Michael wasn’t worried about “Oh, you’re gonna gain weight,” or any of that s—.” If he didn’t do it, I would’ve done it.”
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So even though Luka Doncic didn’t fit into the vision Nico Harrison had for the Mavs, it’s quite obvious that this clip was taken out of context. Managing a player’s public image is important, and to be honest? Finley probably did Luka a favor in the long run. And as for the rest of the rumors, Dallas GM Nico Harrison tried to put those to bed by praising his former star.
When asked by Fox 4 News’ Sam Garrison about the conditioning concerns, Harrison was quick to dismiss them. “No, Luka’s an extremely talented player as we all know, we’ve all seen,” Nico Harrison said. “He’s probably dropped the most points when maybe he’s not in the best conditioning, so he can do that. That’s not an issue.” So even though the GM was cognizant of the concerns, that wasn’t the underlying reason behind the trade.
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Or so he said. We probably won’t ever find out the entire story, as is usually the case with such messy breakups, but one thing’s for certain–Lakers fans are not complaining! And as for the Dallas camp? Well, Mark Cuban finds himself wishing he had handled things differently after this blockbuster trade.
Luka Doncic’s trade forces former Dallas owner to re-evaluate selling the team
Whenever we talk about the Dallas Mavericks, we always talk about Mark Cuban. The former Mavs owner was a huge part of the team’s success and eventual championship in 2011, and was known to take an active part in the team’s functioning. We would see him sitting courtside with Dirk, and most recently? With Luka Magic. However, all of that just made the Lakers trade hit that much harder.
A lot of people held Cuban responsible for Luka’s departure from Dallas, but the billionaire made it clear that he wasn’t on board with the trade either. There isn’t any bad blood between them, either, as Mark Cuban clarified that he’s still in contact with the Lakers star. “We still DM. Most of the times, he will respond to me, and I’ll still give him sh– about stuff.” Cuban said on Gil’s Arena, telling the hosts that he’s friends with the Slovenian star’s father and sits with him often. “I wouldn’t say we’re close, but we still communicate as much as we ever did.”

USA Today via Reuters
Nov 28, 2023; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban smiles as guard Luka Doncic (77) walks back up the court during the second half against the Houston Rockets at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
However, Doncic’s departure did make Mark Cuban think. “We all were hurt when Luka got traded, me as much as anyone, because I felt like I let people down by not being there,” Cuban said on the DLLS Mavs Podcast. “But, what’s done is done.” And at the same time, it also led him to question whether he made the right decisions while selling the team.
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As we know, Nico Harrison didn’t shop around for offers and instead offered Luka to the Lakers directly. The league’s consensus? They would’ve given up a lot more for the former Dallas guard. This, in turn, led to Cuban regretting that he made the same mistake. “I don’t regret selling the team, I regret how I did it,” he revealed. “I would have put it out to bid.” But in his own words, what’s done is done. The former Mavs owner has no skin in the game anymore, but it looks like he’ll stand by his star even if he’s in a yellow jersey now.
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