"Get a better deal" - Mark Cuban gets brutally honest on Mavericks trading Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis
Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban didn't hold back his thoughts on Dallas trading Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis. While appearing on WFAA+ on Thursday, Cuban shared his opinion on the entire saga, which went down a month ago. One of the most shocking aspects was the Mavericks pulling the plug on Doncic as a franchise centerpiece eight months after he led them to a final run.
However, it was even more surprising for some because of the package the Mavericks got back from the Lakers. While Anthony Davis is an All-NBA caliber player, he was aging and injury-prone. The Lakers also parted ways with only one unprotected pick (2029) and young prospect Max Christie.
Here's what Cuban said about the deal:
"If the Mavs are going to trade Luka, that’s one thing, just get a better deal. No disrespect to Anthony Davis…If we had gotten 4 Unprotected No. 1’s and Anthony Davis and Max Christie, this would be a different conversation."
Mark Cuban wasn't in favor of this deal. When he was the majority owner of the franchise, he once claimed that he would divorce his wife before trading Luka Doncic.
However, Cuban was among those who weren't in the loop about this transaction. By the time he was made aware, he stopped GM Nico Harrison from going through with the trade. However, the Lakers and Mavericks had reached an agreement by then.
Mavericks never disclosed Luka Doncic's availability to teams other than Lakers
One of the key reasons the Lakers beat everyone else to win the Luka Doncic sweepstakes was that the Mavericks never disclosed to other teams that their superstar was available. GMs Nico Harrison and Rob Pelinka began their conversations over a coffee in January, and the latter convinced his counterpart to keep negotiations about this deal behind closed doors.
Harrison already had an interest in Anthony Davis for a long time, making it easier for Pelinka to engage him in conversations centered around the 10x All-Star as the key trade chip from LA.
The Lakers struck a near-straight swap by shipping only one of their two tradeable first-round picks (2029 and 2031). They could have included a 2030 pick swap, but the transaction was surprisingly agreed upon without additional draft compensation.