Former Dallas Mavericks majority owner Mark Cuban reportedly attempted to block the blockbuster trade that sent All-Star guard Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers, veteran NBA reporter Mark Stein reported in his The Stein Line Substack newsletter on Sunday (February 9).
Cuban, 66, who sold 73% of the Mavericks' ownership to casino tycoon Miriam Adelson and the Adelson family in 2023, but still has a 27% stake in the team, reportedly "urged" general manager Nico Harrison to not trade Dončić, but the deal had already been verbally agreed to, Stein said. The Billionaire broke his silence on the trade during a sit-down discussion with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates in Richardson, Texas, last Friday (February 7).
“I gotta tell you, I’ve had a rough week,” Cuban said via the Dallas Morning News before posing a similar, hypothetical situation for Gates in which the billionaire said he would "hide from the press."
“I know a couple of other people that are in that situation,” Cuban said, which was met with laughter.
Cuban reportedly privately told Dončić, 25, that he wanted him to match Dirk Nowitzki of 21 seasons played with the franchise and was previously quoted saying, "If I had to choose between my wife and keeping Luka on the Mavs, catch me at my lawyer's office prepping for a divorce."
The Mavericks reportedly had concerns about Dončić's conditioning and weight issues, which he thought would inevitably lead to a change. Dončić, a native of Slovenia, spent his entire career with the Mavericks after being selected at No. 3 overall by the Atlanta Hawks and swapped for the draft rights to Trae Young and a protected future 2019 first-round pick during the night of the 2018 NBA Draft and is just months removed from leading Dallas to a Western Conference championship and NBA Finals appearance.
Dončić, who hasn't played since December 25, is widely regarded as one of the NBA's best players. The Slovenian native averaged 28.1 points, 8.3 rebounds and 7.8 assists in 22 games.