Mark Cuban on Mavericks trading Luka Dončić: ‘Get a better deal’

What did Mark Cuban think about the Dallas Mavericks trading away Luka Dončić? We now have an answer to that question.

Cuban, the former principal owner (and current minority owner) of the Mavericks, discussed the move in an interview with Jonah Javad of WFAA, Dallas’ ABC affiliate. When asked if he was upset about the trade, Cuban had an easy response.

“Yeah, of course,” he said. Cuban elaborated more, noting that his issue wasn’t strictly in the Mavericks trading Dončić but what they did — or more to the point, did not — get in return.

“I’ve said this before, if the Mavs are gonna trade Luka, that’s one thing. Just get a better deal,” he said. “No disrespect to Anthony Davis. But I still firmly believe, if we had gotten four unprotected No. 1s and Anthony Davis and Max Christie, this would be a different conversation.”

“Get a better deal”
Former Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is breaking his silence on the Luka Doncic trade. Here’s what he had to say. @JonahJavad

INTERVIEW: https://t.co/Isu7dAgtqY pic.twitter.com/l4X6jV7eOy

— WFAA (@wfaa) March 7, 2025

Cuban also declined to answer the hypothetical question of whether he would have made the deal.

“I’m not gonna go there,” Cuban said. “It doesn’t even matter.”

When Davad brought up how Cuban “dapped up” Dončić’s father when the Mavericks and Lakers played in Los Angeles, Cuban did compare the move to a critical one that that happened under his watch, while also noting the differences.

“There was a connection,” Cuban said. “Just because we traded someone — like, I still talk to Steve Nash. I went through this before when Steve Nash left and then won two MVPs, right? The good news is we went to the Finals and won a championship. So I’ve been through something, but there wasn’t social media back then. So it wasn’t quite the same. But you’re gonna make mistakes. I think the biggest challenge that the Mavs have right now is there’s nobody who’s really outgoing to communicate. And it’s not so much what you do, it’s how you communicate why you do what you do.

“What makes sports different than every other industry, you know, Google has, Texas Instruments has a record quarter, nobody throws a parade,” he added. “When you win, if fans are passionate enough to show up in 100-degree weather and line the streets, then you gotta expect when things don’t go the way they want, they’re gonna be just as passionate in response.”