Mark Cuban says Jason Kidd was part of decision to trade Luka Doncic

The one-year anniversary of the Luka Doncic trade has already handed, however Nico Harrison’s controversial decision that led to his firing stays a long-lasting subject of dialog.

Mark Cuban spoke concerning the beautiful transaction on Tuesday’s episode of Intersections, a podcast hosted by former Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert and entrepreneur Kyle Waldrep.

Cuban recalled the evening of Feb. 1, 2025, when Harrison knowledgeable him of the trade to purchase Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a future-first spherical decide for Doncic. After that telephone name, the Mavericks minority shareholder mentioned he referred to as workforce governor Patrick Dumont.

“He started telling me stuff that wasn’t true that he had been told as the reason why he approved it,” Cuban mentioned. “I’m like, ‘That’s not true. This is a mistake. But nothing I can do. Here’s how you spin it positively as best as you can.’”

In the aftermath of the trade, a number of stories surfaced citing Doncic’s suboptimal conditioning and off-court habits, reminiscent of ingesting beer and smoking hookah, as contributing components to his departure from Dallas, the place he spent 6.5 seasons because the face of the Mavericks.

“I don’t care if he’s overweight, he’s gonna give you 30 [points], 10 [rebounds] and 10 [assists] and win the game,” Cuban mentioned. “That’s what made Luka special.”

Doncic is having an MVP-worthy season, his first full one with the Lakers, averaging 33.7 factors, 7.8 rebounds and eight.2 assists for a workforce sitting firmly because the third seed within the Western Conference.

“You don’t trade that,” Cuban added. “I think some people got in their feelings. All I’ll tell you is, it wasn’t Michael Finley, and you can surmise who else was in the room.”

Cuban’s remark absolved involvement within the unpopular decision for Finley, who has served as co-interim common supervisor since Harrison’s firing, however he pointed the finger at Mavericks coach Jason Kidd, who, like Harrison, had a longstanding relationship with Davis. Kidd has mentioned because the trade that he wasn’t aware it was happening until the “11th hour.”

“That doesn’t justify it for our coach and our general manager to stand up and trade our best player,” Cuban mentioned on the podcast.

Cuban additionally mentioned he thought there was animosity between Harrison and Doncic’s agent, Bill Duffy, and others who work with the six-time All-Star.

“I don’t think they got along,” Cuban mentioned.

In a clip from the interview launched Monday, Cuban said he made a mistake promoting the franchise to Dumont and his mother-in-law, majority shareholder Miriam Adelson.

“I don’t regret selling. I regret who I sold to,” Cuban mentioned. “I made a lot of mistakes in the process, and I’ll leave it at that.”

Doncic and the Lakers will make their second and closing return to American Airlines Center this season Sunday.

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