The NBA world seemed to shatter on February 1st when reporters first announced that Mavericks star Luka Doncic would be moved off the team.
That day, a three-team trade deal sent Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers with Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris while Dallas got Anthony Davis, Max Christie and LA's 2029 first round pick, and the Utah Jazz received Jalen Hood-Schifino with two 2025 second-round picks.
With Dallas fans furious and NBA viewers confused, it was only a matter of time before former majority team owner and billionaire investor Mark Cuban would speak his mind.
During a recent live conference, Cuban cleverly ridiculed GM Nico Harrison's trade decision by posing a parallel question to co-host and fellow entrepreneur Bill Gates about his enterprise.
Since becoming a minority team owner for Dallas, only holding 23%, Mark Cuban has not been allowed a direct hand in many team decisions.
However, now that Doncic has played his first game with the Lakers, recent reports indicate that he still tried talking with GM Nico Harrison to prevent it.
With the deadline in the past but discussion of the Doncic trade persisting, NBA correspondent Marc Stein recently shared his intel, detailing that Cuban had indeed tried to prevent the blockbuster trade himself.
Unfortunately, his message was too little too late, as the deal had already been done between Harrison and the Lakers.
Luka Doncic scored 14 points in his first game with the Lakers, taking the win against the Utah Jazz 132-113.
With his hopes of pulling in a championship win for Dallas already dashed, hopefully he can be more successful in Los Angeles.
POLL | ||
FÉVRIER 11 | 229 ANSWERS More Details Emerge on What Really Happened Ahead of the Luka Doncic Trade Will the Luka Doncic win a championship with the Los Angeles Lakers? | ||
Yes, soon | 50 | 21.8 % |
Yes, later in his career | 56 | 24.5 % |
No | 95 | 41.5 % |
Unsure/No opinion | 28 | 12.2 % |
LIST OF POLLS |
G | A | PTS | ||
Tom Wilson | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
Alexander Ovechkin | - | 3 | 3 | |
Brendan Gallagher | 2 | - | 2 | |
Anthony Cirelli | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Josh Doan | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Pierre-Luc Dubois | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Dylan Guenther | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Victor Hedman | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Jack McBain | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Dylan Strome | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Jake Guentzel | - | 2 | 2 | |
Brandon Hagel | - | 2 | 2 | |
Michael Carcone | 1 | - | 1 | |
Christian Dvorak | 1 | - | 1 | |
Zemgus Girgensons | 1 | - | 1 | |
Nick Paul | 1 | - | 1 | |
Brayden Point | 1 | - | 1 | |
Cam Atkinson | - | 1 | 1 | |
John Carlson | - | 1 | 1 | |
Nick Desimone | - | 1 | 1 | |
Complete stats |
STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 56 | 39 | 14 | 3 | 81 | |
Capitals | 55 | 36 | 11 | 8 | 80 | |
Oilers | 55 | 34 | 17 | 4 | 72 | |
Stars | 55 | 35 | 18 | 2 | 72 | |
Golden Knights | 56 | 33 | 17 | 6 | 72 | |
Panthers | 57 | 34 | 20 | 3 | 71 | |
Hurricanes | 56 | 33 | 19 | 4 | 70 | |
Wild | 56 | 33 | 19 | 4 | 70 | |
Maple Leafs | 55 | 33 | 20 | 2 | 68 | |
Avalanche | 57 | 33 | 22 | 2 | 68 | |
Conference | Cumulative |