Luka Doncic might not be associated with the Dallas Mavericks anymore, but given their shared history, Mark Cuban still feels a sense of pride in watching the Lakers star. Doncic moved to the City of Angels last season as part of a shocking trade, with the media going to town on the Slovenian star’s match fitness.
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Doncic, notably, was rather disappointed with the trade, and even though he didn’t address it publicly, it is widely known that he was rather fond of his time with the Mavericks. Cuban, the owner of the team earlier, has now revealed that despite Doncic having been moved on from the Mavs roster, they still stay in touch.
Even when they played the Lakers last season, Cuban reportedly spent a lot of time with Doncic’s father. This was despite his very public hatred of the Lakers. Cuban recently appeared on The Arena, where he cheekily claimed that while he was a diehard fan of the Slovenian star, that love seems to have dissipated, courtesy of his association with the Lakers.
“Slovenian Jesus! Yeah. Slovenian is the hardest language to learn. I really thought I would kiss Luka’s a** by learning some Slovenian. That s*** is hard. But like, off the court, love Luka to death. On the court, f*** him. I don’t want him to get hurt or anything,” he said, adding that he hated the Lakers so much that when he realised his high school gear had the same color as theirs, he threw it away!
When asked if he would watch any Lakers game just to watch Doncic, Cuban practically jumped out of his chair to say no, adding that he was not going to be excited even if Doncic himself scored. “I hope they go 0-82,” he joked. “I love Luka to death. He is a great guy … Luka is a good guy, but f*** the Lakers,” Cuban reiterated.
Needless to say, he’s not a fan of the Luka trade either. Having gone from being a majority owner to having a minority stake in the Mavs, Cuban said, “Oh, let’s trade one of the top three players in the NBA. I wouldn’t have done it, but it’s done. So, you know, sometimes the basketball gods smile on you and you get Cooper Flagg, the number 1 pick, right?
“But that’s been the toughest part, just not being the final decision maker when it comes to on-court decisions,” Cuban said.
Well, at least he still has a good relationship with Doncic, and it doesn’t seem like much is going to change about that. Perhaps Luka could respond to his DMs a little more but then, by Cuban’s own admission, he does give the Slovenian star a hard time. So fair’s fair!
