Like many, Shaquille O’Neal couldn’t believe the Dallas Mavericks would willingly trade Luka Dončić at this point in his career.
But unlike most, the Hall of Fame center isn’t just willing to let the deal play out for Dallas — he’s even going as far as to proclaim the Mavericks the immediate winners of the trade.
O’Neal’s comments came on TNT’s pregame show ahead of the highly anticipated Eastern Conference showdown between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics. And while he later took an optimistic stance from a basketball standpoint, the four-time NBA champion first took issue with Dallas’ approach to the deal.
“Obviously Dallas didn’t want to move forward with one of the greatest young players that we’ve seen today. I wish the business of basketball could have been handled a little better,” O’Neal said. “You would think a guy that five years in the league, five first-team All-NBAs would at least get the conversation like, ‘hey, things are not going well. This could possibly happen.’ But you know, he felt the same way I felt when it went down: I actually had to look and make sure it wasn’t April Fool’s Day.”
The 52-year-old proceeded to draw on his own experience as a former NBA player and the moment he realized that anyone could be traded at any time.
“I remember the day [the Knicks] traded Patrick Ewing, and it made me say to myself, ‘nobody is safe.’ Then Dominique [Wilkins]. Then me. Then you,” O’Neal said, pointing to fellow analyst Vince Carter. “So it happens. But it’s just very unfortunate, you know, it’s a lot of stuff going on. He wasn’t in shape. He was this, was that. It’s obvious that they didn’t want to move forward with a 25-year-old superstar. But now he’s in ‘La La Land.'”
O’Neal might need to refresh his timeline; the Knicks traded Ewing (who had requested a trade) in 2000, while the Atlanta Hawks dealt Wilkins to the Los Angeles Clippers in 1994. The Big Aristotle’s larger point, however, is that he’s been around the NBA long enough to know that trades are a part of the business — even if this one was so shocking that it left him wondering whether it was a prank.
As for the basketball aspect of the deal, O’Neal wrote off any concerns anyone might have regarding Dončić’s fit alongside LeBron James. Still, the 2000 NBA MVP says that when it comes to the short term, it’s the Mavericks who won the trade.
“It’s going to be interesting,” O’Neal said. “However, I think Dallas got better of the trade — for the next two years anyway.”
“For the next 2 years, I think Dallas won that trade.” 👀
Shaq on the Luka & AD trade. pic.twitter.com/wkCrTxtcSI
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 5, 2025
O’Neal’s comments are similar to the sentiments that Charles Barkley shared earlier this week during a discussion about the trade on ESPN’s Get Up. While Dončić is widely considered a better player than Anthony Davis, who Dallas acquired in the trade, the reality is that the Lakers’ roster now has glaring holes in its frontcourt, while the Mavericks seemingly took a step forward defensively with the deal.
Will Dallas’ defensive improvement make up for the loss of a player widely considered one of the five best in the world? We’ll find out in the weeks, months and even years ahead. But as O’Neal and Barkley’s comments both illustrate, the trade — while still shocking — might not be as lopsided as many have made it out to be.
