Franchise legend Dirk Nowitzki indirectly singles out Mark Cuban over Luka Doncic trade

Dirk Nowitzki has often spoken about the blockbuster Luka Doncic trade involving the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Lakers. On Saturday, the 2023 Naismith Hall of Fame inductee discussed the topic again on the "41 Campus" podcast - hosted by his sister Silke Mayer - where he indirectly blamed Mark Cuban for the Mavs and Doncic parting ways.

Despite Cuban’s love for the Slovenian superstar, as transcribed by account @triplethread_NBA on X (formerly Twitter), Nowitzki suggested that the move was foreseeable when the American businessman sold the majority of his shares in the team last year.

“When you give up the majority in the club, then you have to expect a lot of things to come with it and that’s how it is now. The last year has developed a bit in that direction,” Nowitzki said (translated from German on YouTube). (12:48 onwards)

The Mavs legend suggested Cuban — now a minority owner — had minimal influence over team decisions and was helpless to prevent the trade from happening.

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Dirk Nowitzki wished Luka Doncic well

Dirk Nowitzki has maintained a special bond with Luka Doncic since the former’s final NBA season. After his retirement, the Mavs icon remained an advisor for the team and was involved in Doncic's development into an MVP-caliber player.

Despite Doncic now playing for a rival team, Nowitzki supports his mentee. While he won’t be cheering for the Los Angeles Lakers, the Hall of Famer still hopes to see Luka succeed.

“I felt like I had to support him. I played with him my last season, we’ve gotten close," Nowitzki said on 96.7 The Ticket radio’s Ticketstock event on Feb 23. "I’ve tried to mentor him, I’ve tried to help him as much as I can these last few years and he’s just, he’s a good kid. It was surreal to see him play for the Lakers. At the end of the day I’ll never be a Lakers fan but I’ll also be a Luka fan.”

Despite initial struggles, Luka Doncic is now averaging 26.6 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 7.6 assists per game to pivot the Lakers to a 9-5 record in his first 14 games following the trade.

The Los Angeles side are fifth in the Western Conference standings, one game behind the second-seeded Houston Rockets.