Report: Mark Cuban Urged Nico Harrison Not To Trade Luka Doncic

According to NBA insider Marc Stein, Mark Cuban urged Nico Harrison not to trade Luka Doncic. 

However, Cuban was too late. 

The Mavericks traded Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis and Max Christie. 

“By the time Cuban found out about the Luka-for-AD trade, it was too late,” Stein wrote. “Patrick Dumont never approached 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.”

Harrison was the man behind the Doncic-Davis trade. He approached Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka about the deal in January. 

“It was largely Harrison, league sources say, who has increasingly believed since the Mavericks’ one-sided loss to the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals, that Doncic: Would not improve his commitment to conditioning or his off-court dietary discipline,” Stein wrote. “Would not improve as a leader or culture-setter. Would not improve his well-chronicled comportment issues with referees. Would not be able to stay healthy as he got older. And thus could not, after the Mavericks and Doncic grappled with these issues since Harrison arrived in June 2021, be given the five-year supermax deal worth nearly $350 million that he was expecting in July.”

Doncic appeared in 422 games with the Mavericks. He averaged 28.6 points, 8.7 rebounds and 8.3 assists and made five All-Star teams and five All-NBA teams. 

A future Hall of Famer, Doncic will make his Lakers debut on Monday versus the Utah Jazz.

Davis played 31 minutes against the Rockets in his Mavericks debut before getting hurt. He finished with 26 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks while shooting 10-of-18 from the field, 2-of-2 from beyond the arc and 4-of-6 from the free-throw line. 

Davis is expected to miss time with an adductor injury, which is going to make Mavericks fans even more angry. 

Harrison has already received death threats since trading Doncic.