Mark Cuban Reveals Candid Thoughts on Luka Doncic After Blockbuster Trade

The blockbuster trade that shook up not only the basketball world but the sports world took place seven months ago between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks.

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The trade centered around superstar guard Luka Doncic, which sent him from Dallas to Los Angeles. It was a trade that no one saw coming, and one that was the case even for the former majority owner of the Mavericks, Mark Cuban.

Cuban sold the team in January 2024 and had zero say in the basketball side of things. He has shared his thoughts publicly on the trade, and seven months later, it is still at the forefront of many people’s minds.

In a recent appearance on the Gilbert Arena podcast, Gil’s Arena, Cuban shared how his relationship with Doncic is to this day.

“Slovenian Jesus! Yeah. Slovenian is the hardest language to learn. I really thought I would kiss Luka’s a** by learning some Slovenian. That s*** is hard. But like, off the court, love Luka to death. On the court, f*** him. I don’t want him to get hurt or anything,” Cuban said.

Cuban said this jokingly, of course, but he didn’t stop there. He took a dig at the Lakers in his conversation with Arenas.

“I hope they go 0-82,” he joked. “I love Luka to death. He is a great guy … Luka is a good guy, but f*** the Lakers,” Cuban stated.

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How Long Was Mark Cuban the Majority Owner of the Mavericks?

Cuban owned the Mavericks for 23 seasons and was instrumental in taking the team to new heights.

The 67-year-old had two superstars on his team in his tenure, Dirk Nowitzki and Doncic. Nowitzki spent his entire career in Dallas, and the expectation was that Doncic would follow suit.

Instead, the new majority owners, the Adelson family, Patrick Dumont, and general manager Nico Harrison did not believe that Doncic could be the one to carry them to the next level, despite leading them to the NBA Finals in 2024.

Now, Doncic is a Laker, and the expectation is he will remain in Los Angeles for the next decade or so. As for the Mavericks, they have the No. 1pick this year in Cooper Flagg, and we’ll see if the new ownership likes what they see from him.

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