With the trade deadline approaching, the Dallas Mavericks rattled the basketball world with the decision to feature Luka Doncic in a trade that involved the Los Angeles Lakers and the Utah Jazz on Saturday night.
The Mavericks’ decision to move on from Doncic, a 25-year-old guard, was met with confusion from the vocal portion of the fan base.
In the hours following the trade, Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison and head coach Jason Kidd met with the media to talk about the trade.
“He fits right along with our timeframe to win now and win in the future,” Harrison said about the trade that added 31-year-old forward Anthony Davis to the roster. “The future to me is 3-4 years from now. The future 10 years from now… They’ll probably bury me and (Jason Kidd) by then, or we’ll bury ourselves.”
Harrison also credited Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka for his role in helping keep the trade discussions under wraps for several weeks.
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‘Trades don’t happen at the smallest level without stuff getting out and Rob and I were able to have really intense conversations over the course of three or four weeks,” Harrison said.
Harrison confirmed during the press conference that Kidd was not made aware of the trade until after it was finalized.
Several key players within both organizations, including, LeBron James, Doncic and Davis were said to be unaware of the conversations, according to reports.
According to a source, USA TODAY has learned that Doncic did not request a trade and did not ask out of Dallas.
Here’s what you need to know about the trade.
Was money an issue for Mavericks in Luka Doncic trade?
Doncic was eligible for a five-year, $345 million super max contract extension this summer with the Mavericks, and there is belief around the league that Dallas did not want to commit that kind of money to the All-NBA guard.
A supermax deal pays a player a max of 35% of the salary cap, however, since Doncic was traded and no longer with the team that drafted him, he is not eligible for the super max contract with the Lakers.
ESPN NBA front office insider Bobby Marks spelled out Doncic’s contract options with the Lakers. He can become a free agent in the summer of 2026, and his most lucrative financial option is signing a three-year, $165.3 million extension this summer then getting a new deal starting in 2028-29 that is for five years and worth nearly $420 million.
Were the Mavericks concerned about Luka Doncic’s physical conditioning and defense?
Doncic hasn’t made an All-Defense team and his physical conditioning has been questioned.
However, he is a five-time All-NBA selection who finished third in MVP voting in 2023-24. Teams generally don’t get rid of that kind of talent.
Doncic helped lead the Mavericks back to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2011, when Dallas won its first NBA title.
Doncic led several statistical categories during the 2024 playoffs including points (635), rebounds (208), assists (178) and steals (41) despite losing to the Boston Celtics in a five-game NBA Finals series.
Doncic is a triple-double threat every game and averaged 28.1 points, 8.3 rebounds and 7.8 assists and shot 46.4% from the field and 35.4% on 3-pointers this season before he was sidelined with a calf injury on Christmas.
This season, the Mavericks were nearly 10 points per 100 possessions better than their opponent with Doncic on the court compared to when he wasn’t playing.
Did Mark Cuban play a role in Dallas Mavericks trading Luka?
Mark Cuban, who bought the Mavericks in 2000, sold his majority share to the families of Miriam Adelson and Sivan and Patrick Dumont in December of 2023. Cuban owns a smaller share and no longer has the final say in basketball operations.
Cuban told Dallas’ WFAA that he was not involved in the decision to trade the Slovenian star.
Who owns the Mavericks now?
Adelson and her family are the largest shareholders of Sands, which owns and operates casinos and hotels worldwide. Sands previously owned the Venetian Resort, which included The Venetian, Palazzo and Venetian Expo.
Adelson was one of President Donald Trump’s largest individual donors, giving $100 million to political action committee Preserve America’s efforts to elect Trump, according to OpenSecrets.org.
She attended school in Israel and became a physician, and later Adelson specialized in addiction treatment. She and her husband founded Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Clinic for Drug Abuse Treatment & Research more than three decades ago.
Her son-in-law, Patrick Dumont, is listed as the governor. He is the president and chief operating officer of Sands and is also on the board of directors.