By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The trade sending Slovenian superstar Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers followed severe internal front-office dysfunction and a complete communication breakdown between former principal owner Mark Cuban and former general manager Nico Harrison. Appearing on a special edition of House of Haymaker, the 67-year-old businessman revealed that the controversial transaction was driven entirely by Harrison, who alienated the franchise cornerstone and misled ownership.
“At that point, Nico wasn’t talking to me at all,” he detailed the depth of the disconnect during his interview on Wednesday. “I knew he was frustrated with Luka and Luka’s team, because I had said earlier than that if you want me to deal directly with the people on this team, the start of the 2024-25 season, I’ll take that responsibility, because I’ve known them for 20 plus years. He goes, ‘No, MC, I got it’, but we weren’t talking at all at that point.”
“When I talked to Patrick about it, you could just tell that Nico just shit on Luka. because some of the stuff that Patrick was telling me was not true. And kudos to Fin [Michael Finley] trying to stand up and block it,” he added, revealing how 53-year-old Harrison heavily influenced governor Patrick Dumont by fabricating internal problems
Cuban also opened up about former head coach Jason Kidd being fully aware of the front office’s intentions.
“He knew about it,” he mentioned on his involvement, while expressing his wish that the head coach had been more aggressive in trying to prevent the move. “Whether it was directly or indirectly, blessing it, I can’t say with 100% certainty, I just know what I have been told, so it’s second-hand, but it was Nico driving it.”
The current minority owner also admitted he stayed quiet during regular front-office updates because the team was succeeding at the time.
After becoming a dominant NBA superstar with the Mavericks, Doncic was traded to the Lakers midway through the 2024-25 Regular Season.
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