The Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks have dominated NBA headlines since their blockbuster Luka Doncic trade. Doncic has played two games for the Lakers, averaging 15.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.

Shark Tank investor and Dallas Mavericks minor stakeholder Mark Cuban expressed his dismay in a roundabout way about the departure of Luka Doncic from the Mavericks.

Although he remains a minority owner of the team, Cuban has stepped back from day-to-day basketball operations since the Adelson family acquired majority control in late 2023.

Mark Cuban does not have as much control over the Dallas Mavericks as some may think in the aftermath of the Luka Doncic trade.

In a conversation with Bill Gates at the Eisemann Center in Richardson on Friday night, Cuban was blunt in his first public response about the trade that sent the international superstar he drafted to Los Angeles. "I've had a rough week," Cuban told Gates to begin the event per Sarah Hepola of The Dallas Morning News.

The jaw-dropping Luka Doncic trade cemented the reality, if it wasn’t already clear, that Mark Cuban has no influence on the Mavericks’ basketball operations.

When Cuban sold his majority stake in the Mavericks back in November 2023, it was reported that he would retain control of basketball operations. While he remains a minority owner in the franchise, the Dončić trade makes it clear his role has diminished within the walls of the facility.

For starters, it wasn’t Cuban. While he’s still a minority owner in the team, Cuban — who once said he’d sooner divorce his wife than let Doncic go to another NBA franchise

Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban has terse reaction to colossal Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis Lakers trade, per Marc Stein

Multiple Mavs fans were escorted from American Airlines Center during Monday night’s home game against the Sacramento Kings over violations of the NBA’s code of conduct. Among the fans were two who held up signs reading “FIRE NICO,” in reference to Dallas General Manager Nico Harrison.

The Dallas Mavericks traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night in exchange for Anthony Davis. It came as a shock to everyone, including Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban.