So much has been said about the blockbuster trade that will forever mark this 2024-25 campaign, back when the Mavericks sent out Luka Doncic to Los Angeles before February’s deadline came to an end. However, new information keeps surfacing, especially as Mark Cuban has been especially vocal on the subject.
In a recent interview on The Stephen A. Smith Show, the club minority owner explained why this move proved that the team’s front office failed to understand the Slovenian’s background and culture. “He’s always really intense on the court,” Cuban said, dismissing the idea that Luka didn’t work hard enough.
“Always. You see his response to the referees. You see his responses to anybody. He is intense. And while [Serbian superstar Nikola Jokić] might not be as purely emotional and I don’t get to see as many as his games, the guy is intense, you know?
“But when the game is over and he goes back home, he’s more interested in harness racing. Which, by the way, I grew up watching my entire life, so I don’t blame him. But they go back and they life their lives. It’s just different,” the billionaire said using the Nuggets star as reference.
Cuban continues to use the word “we” when he refers to the Mavs’ decisions, but has made it clear many times who he would’ve never traded Doncic out of Texas. He still recalls when Dallas GM Nico Harrison first called him to talk about the infamous trade.
“I was like, ‘You’re asking me right? This isn’t done,’” Cuban shared last month. “And he was like, ‘No, it’s done.’ And I was like, ‘OK. Nothing more to talk about. I wouldn’t have done this. And thanks for giving me the call.’”
In an interview with the Dallas Morning News‘, owner Patrick Dumont said that the Mavericks only want the kind of athletes who work “really hard, every day, with a singular focus to win,” citing Shaquille O’Neal, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and Kobe Bryant as examples.
