When Mark Cuban sold his majority ownership stake of the Dallas Mavericks back in December 2023, he thought he would still be the final shot-caller. However, he was given a reality check earlier in February, when the Mavericks traded their star guard, Luka Doncic, to the Los Angeles Lakers.
The move came as a shock since Doncic was considered the heart and soul of the team. At the time, Mavericks GM Nico Harrison said he didn't like the conditioning and fitness level of Doncic. Given that Cuban was a big Doncic fan, questions were also raised against him on how he could let something like this happen in the first place.
Months after speculation, Cuban set the record straight, suggesting that it wasn't his idea to trade and the guy who made the trade happen was no fan of his.
"Yeah, I f--- up," Cuban said on The All-In One Podcast. "When I did the deal, the presumption was that I would still be running basketball operations, and we tried to put it in the contract, but the NBA said the governor is the governor, and they make all final decisions. I was still involved, and then we went on that run to the Finals. Rather than trying to interject myself all the time, I thought, ‘I don’t want to get in the way. We’re rolling.’ But that was a mistake. Some things happened internally where the person who traded Luka didn’t want me there, and so they won. I lost. That’s in the past. I’m still hardcore Mavs."
Mark Cuban revealed that he was supposed to continue running the Mavericks after selling the team, but something happened internally
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) September 10, 2025
“The person who traded Luka didn’t want me there.” 👀
(🎥 @theallinpod / h/t @KevinGraySports )
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Dallas moves beyond Luka Doncic
A lot has happened in Dallas since the Mavericks traded Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris to the Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick. The Utah Jazz also received a player and picks in this three-team trade.
While there was quite the uproar among the fanbase over the most shocking move before the trade deadline, things settled down after Dallas won the NBA lottery despite having low odds. This landed them the first overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft, which they used on Cooper Flagg. The Duke product is hailed as one of the best drafted players since LeBron James.
Alongside Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis, Flagg should fit well and make Dallas a true contender.
Meanwhile, Doncic has also moved on, signing a three-year, $165 million blockbuster extension with the Lakers.