"Cuban urged Harrison not to go ahead with the swap" - Insider uncovers Mark Cuban's last-ditch effort to stop Luka Doncic trade

The Dallas Mavericks blindsided the rest of the NBA when they agreed to ship superstar guard Luka Doncic to the LA Lakers on Feb. 1. While few knew about the blockbuster deal until it was settled, Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban reportedly made a last-ditch effort to nix it.

Cuban was Dallas' majority owner from 2000 until 2023 when he sold 73% of his ownership stake to the Adelson and Dumont families. He presided over the franchise's acquisition of Doncic in the 2018 NBA draft and watched him develop into a homegrown megastar.

Upon selling his controlling interest in the team, Cuban reportedly expected to remain involved in basketball operations. However, per NBA insider Marc Stein, he had no say in the three-team trade that sent Doncic to LA for superstar big man Anthony Davis.

Moreover, the billionaire businessman was reportedly unable to convince Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison to call off the deal before it was "too late."

"By the time Cuban found out about the Luka-for-AD trade, it was too late," Stein wrote Sunday. "(Patrick) Dumont never approached him for advice. Sources say Cuban urged Harrison not to go ahead with the swap ... only to find out that the deal had already been sealed with the Lakers by verbal handshake."

Stein added that Cuban is offended that he was kept in the dark during the trade negotiations.

"In truth, he has clearly been stung, league sources say, by the lack of advance warning he had on the deal — yet another harsh signal that he has been pushed farther and farther away from the front office than he ever imagined," Stein wrote.

Cuban was an outspoken supporter of Luka Doncic during his majority ownership tenure. In 2020, he famously quipped that he would choose to keep the five-time All-Star in Dallas over staying married to his wife.

So, Cuban seemingly expected Doncic to remain a Maverick for life, or at least throughout his previously anticipated supermax contract.

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Mark Cuban likens Luka Doncic trade to Microsoft downgrade

Mark Cuban also touched on the Luka Doncic deal on Friday during an event for Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates' memoir, "Source Code" at Texas' Eisemann Center.

The seemingly bewildered Mavericks minority owner attempted to make light of the situation. He compared it to Gates' successor hypothetically downgrading Microsoft operating systems.

"I gotta tell you, I've had a rough week," Cuban began. "... If after you left Microsoft, you found out that Steve Ballmer traded Windows 11 — like, the new hot operating system — for Windows 10, the Hall-of-Fame but older operating system, what would you do?"

Gates then joked that he "might have to hide from the press," further illustrating Cuban's undesirable circumstance.

Given Doncic's age (25) and upside, it will likely take Cuban a while to live down what many consider the most stunning trade in NBA history.

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