US President Donald Trump drops vehement criticism on Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic trade: “It might go down as the worst trade in the history of sports” | NBA News

Donald Trump delivers harsh verdict on Luka Doncic trade. Image via: Luke Hales/Getty Images | Brendan SMIALOWSKI/ AFP via Getty Images

The Luka Doncic trade is not winding down, as it has found a new critic. The president of the United States, Donald Trump, stopped by the Dallas Mavericks’ home arena Wednesday night and told a packed room he still can’t make sense of the deal that sent Doncic west.Trump was speaking at American Airlines Center during the Republican National Committee’s midterm convention, and basketball wasn’t even the point of the night. He brought it up anyway and went on to compare Dallas trading away its franchise star to one of the most infamous sales in baseball history.

Nineteen months after the trade went through, Donald Trump stood inside the building where Doncic used to play and admitted the whole thing still baffles him. His remarks came on the opening night of the RNC’s two-day midterm convention, the first time the event has been held at the Mavericks’ arena. Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” was still fading out as Trump walked onstage around 8:10 p.m.He was upfront about not being a basketball expert. That didn’t stop him from delivering a verdict anyway. Trump said, “This is a big Dallas Mavericks team, which is going to be hopefully good. I must tell you, I don’t understand the trade. That trade is not, what do I know about basketball? I would say it’s not going to go down as the greatest trade in the history of sports. It might go down as the worst trade in the history of sports.“Further, the President went on to compare the Red Sox-New York Yankees wild 1919 Babe Ruth trade, “Babe will always be the worst trade. But is it Luka? Maybe we could redo that trade. I redo deals all the time. We gotta redo that deal. I don’t get that deal. Some deals you understand; I understand deals. But that one I didn’t quite get.”The trade closed on February 2, 2025, and it was bigger than a straight one-for-one swap. It was actually a three-team deal that also pulled in the Utah Jazz. Dallas sent Doncic to Los Angeles and got back Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a 2029 first-round pick. Nine months later, the Mavericks fired general manager Nico Harrison, the man who built the trade, and handed the front office to Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi.

Three months after the trade, Dallas won draft lottery luck and took Cooper Flagg first overall. Flagg started every game he played as a rookie, averaging 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists, and won Rookie of the Year. Davis lasted only 20 games in Dallas before a February 2026 trade sent him to Washington, while Christie stuck around and shot 40.4 percent from three across 77 games. The Mavericks are still in the puzzle and attempting to rebuild the roster.The Mavericks still finished 26-56. Masai Ujiri took over basketball operations in May, hired Mike Schmitz away from Portland, and parted ways with coach Jason Kidd soon after. Dusty May now runs the bench. Doncic, meanwhile, is averaging 31.9 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 8.1 assists across 92 games in Los Angeles, numbers that make Trump’s frustration easy to understand, even if the front office saw it differently.Following the trade, there were huge protests by fans, and certainly, it was one of the most talked-about trades in history, as it has also garnered attention from Trump.