Video: Chandler Parsons Says Mark Cuban 'Confused' by Mavs, Lakers' Luka Dončić Trade
February 3, 2025
Longtime Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has been relatively quiet following Sunday's blockbuster trade that sent star guard Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers.
During Monday's episode of Run It Back, former Mavericks forward Chandler Parsons said that he texted briefly with Cuban and revealed the 66-year-old's reaction to the deal.
"I texted him and I said, 'I'm so confused,' and he wrote back, 'That makes two of us,'" Chandler said. "So that kind of tells you right there, he wasn't involved."
Run It Back @RunItBackFDTV"I texted (Mark Cuban) and I said, 'I'm so confused.' He wrote back, 'That makes two of us." - <a href="https://twitter.com/ChandlerParsons?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ChandlerParsons</a>📲<br><br>The Luka Doncic trade to the Lakers shocked the former majority owner of the Dallas Mavericks.<a href="https://twitter.com/MichelleDBeadle?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MichelleDBeadle</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/TeamLou23?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TeamLou23</a> <a href="https://t.co/3EyMZWBvgW">pic.twitter.com/3EyMZWBvgW</a>
At least one person inside the organization assumes this trade would not have happened if Cuban was still in charge.
"No way Mark would ever trade Luka," a team source told Ramona Shelburne and Tim MacMahon of ESPN. "It wouldn't even be a conversation."
NBA insider Marc Stein noted that Cuban has remained mum on the subject of trading Dončić, stating, "Asked Sunday to react to the trade, Cuban passed on the opportunity to comment publicly beyond saying: 'Go Mavs.'"
Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News echoed that sentiment, as Cuban responded to him with a similar message:
Cuban, who sold his majority stake in the franchise to the Adelson and Dumont families for $3.5 billion in November 2023, confirmed to WFAA's Ryan Osborne and Pete Freedman on Sunday that he wasn't involved in the Mavs' decision to trade Dončić. He had controlling interest in the team when the Slovenian was drafted third overall in 2018, and his affinity for the 25-year-old was well-documented.
Cuban famously once said you could "catch me at my lawyer's office preparing for a divorce" if it came down to choosing between his wife or keeping Dončić in Dallas.
Mavs general manager Nico Harrison took credit for the negotiations that culminated with Sunday's trade, declaring that the Lakers were the only team he spoke to regarding the possibility of trading Dončić. The deal will go down as one of the most shocking trades in NBA history.
With Dončić gone and Cuban out of power, the Mavs are officially entering a new era that will unlikely take time for fans to get used to.
