Nearly two weeks after it first happened, people are still trying to make sense of the Dallas Mavericks’ stunning decision to trade Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers.
And while there have already been plenty of theories floated about what is widely regarded as the biggest trade in NBA — if not sports — history, Puck’s John Ourand has introduced a new potential explanation to the mix.
Earlier this week, the longtime sports media insider hosted ESPN’s Shams Charania, on his podcast, The Varsity. And in discussing the shocking deal with the man who first broke the story, Ourand revealed that industry executives believe that the discrepancy in revenue from their respective local TV deals played a role in the Mavericks trading the five-time first-team All-NBA selection to basketball’s most famous franchise.
“Several executives insist that the fact that the Lakers make 10x from local media deals than the Mavericks played a part in the Luka trade,” Ourand told Charania.
Ourand went on to note that the Mavericks were previously a part of the Diamond Sports Group (now known as Main Street Sports Group) before being cut by the regional sports network (RSN) last year. The team now airs its games for locally via an agreement with local conglomerate Tegna and launched its MavsTV streaming service this past December.
Meanwhile, the Lakers are currently in the midst of what is believed to be a 20-year, $3 billion rights deal with Spectrum SportsNet, which reportedly pays the team $150 million per year. The pact is believed to be one of the richest local TV deals in all of sports.
While Charania wasn’t able to confirm Ourand’s reporting, he didn’t deny that money was a motivating factor in the deal. Specifically, Dončić was set to be eligible for a five-year, $345 million supermax contract extension, which the Mavericks clearly had some reservations about offering.
Ultimately, we’ll likely never know whether possessing a better RSN deal would have made Dallas more willing to sign Luka Dončić to such a contract or if he was always headed for a breakup with the Mavericks. But for now, we’ll settle for any sliver of insight that helps explain what still remains unexplainable.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.