Adam Silver shoots down Luka Dončić trade conspiracy theory

Luka Dončić’s trade to the Los Angeles Lakers remains one of the NBA’s hottest topics. Two weeks after the trade went down, commissioner Adam Silver addressed one of the more prevalent theories about the trade.

A theory was that Dončić was traded as a way to turn fans of the Dallas Mavericks against the team. Then, in turn, the current Mavs owners, who bought the team in 2023, would move the team to Las Vegas. Bill Simmons was among those to float that theory — or a similar one. To be fair, part of that theory, the fans getting mad at the Mavericks, has happened.

Brian Windhorst of ESPN shared that he didn’t believe in that, or many of the other conspiracy theories. And on All-Star Saturday night, Silver shot down the theory that Dallas’ new ownership group bought the team with Vegas in mind.

“There’s no doubt in my mind [new ownership] has bought that team to keep it in Dallas,” Silver said, per Rachel Nichols on X. “And all I can say to the fans is that time will tell if it’s a smart trade, but I think they should believe in their organization.”

Adam Silver on a theory among some Mavs fans that the Luka trade was part of a plan to eventually move the team to Las Vegas: “there’s no doubt in my mind [new ownership] has bought that team to keep it in Dallas. And all I can say to the fans is that time will tell if it’s a…

— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) February 16, 2025

Silver is right. It will take some time to truly determine who won the trade or whether it was the right move. But in fairness, for those who are skeptical about the motives of the trade, it will also take some time for that skepticism to be quelled.