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‘I Called the Hawks Owner Myself’: Former Mavericks Majority Owner Mark Cuban Gets Candid on Drafting Luka Doncic
Mark Cuban, former majority owner of the Dallas Mavericks, candidly discusses the Luka Doncic Trade Story in a recent appearance on the Draymond Green Show.
Just in his sixth NBA season, Dallas Mavericks Superstar Luka Doncic is among the most talked-about names in the league. Drafted third overall in the 2018 NBA Draft, Doncic laid the foundation of a successful career by winning Rookie of the Year honors and hasn't looked back since.
Currently just one spot below fellow Balkan brother Nikola Jokic on the 2023-24 MVP Leaderboard, the Slovenian is making a legitimate case for earning his first regular season MVP award. Both Doncic and the Mavericks have found incredible success in the past couple of seasons, and it's hard to imagine one without the other.
In a recent appearance on Draymond Green's Podcast, the Draymond Green Show, Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban spoke about drafting Luka Doncic and what went down leading up to it.
Cuban Called the Hawks Owner on Draft Night
In an hour-long interaction on Draymond Green’s podcast, lifelong Mavericks fan and Billionaire Mark Cuban touched upon many past, present, and future stories from his life. One such discussion was about how he pulled off bringing Doncic to Dallas.
Cuban gave a behind-the-scenes insight on what led to the Mavericks securing Doncic as the third overall pick:
“Our scouts had Deandre Ayton No.1, and our analytics had Luka No.1.” Cuban continued, “We hear that the Hawks want Trae. The General Managers are talking and talking but not getting done. About 30 minutes to go; it’s coming up to our time. And so, I ended up getting on the phone with the Hawks owner, and we hashed it out ourselves. And about 15 minutes before our pick, we got it done”.
Doncic’s Legacy With the Mavericks
Luka Doncic’s journey with the Mavericks is far from over. Having played under coaches Rick Carlisle and Jason Kidd, the five-time All-Star has learned valuable lessons on personal growth and leadership.
In all his six seasons with the Mavericks, Doncic has led the team in total points and points per game and helped the Mavs reach the playoffs three times.
This season, the Mavericks are fifth in the Western Conference (as of Apr. 3) with seven more games to go. If Dallas can win all seven of their remaining games, there is a real possibility we can spot them in the Conference finals, perhaps against the Nuggets.
Whether or not the Slovenian wins this year’s MVP award, he is destined to keep playing for the Mavericks and inspiring young hoopers for years to come.
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