Mavs owner twists knife in Luka Doncic as Dallas continues to embarrass itself

The NBA trade deadline will be quiet, they said. The new CBA will hold GMs in check, they said. Nothing too earth-shattering will happen, they did.

Well, the 2025 NBA trade deadline will go down in history as the most shocking... ever? Several All-Stars changed homes, but none were more surprising than Luka Doncic. The Dallas Mavericks dealt their 25-year-old MVP candidate to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a single first-round pick.

It was a move that defied logic and damn near incited riots in the streets of Dallas. The Mavs were in the NBA Finals last season with Doncic at the helm, but Nico Harrison and the higher-ups in Dallas were evidently unsatisfied with Doncic's commitment to his craft.

Harrison released a statement in the direct aftermath of the trade, stating with profound pride and stupidity that "defense wins championships." The Mavs were a top-five defense at full strength last season, by the way.

The rumblings out of Dallas since the trade have followed a very clear line of attack. Rather than hyping up Anthony Davis, the Mavs media machine has all but explicitly called Doncic lazy and fat. Dallas was concerned not by Doncic's basketball talent, but by his poor conditioning and the looming commitment of a supermax contract.

Now Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont has broken his silence on the shocking trade, and his comments border on absurdity.

Mavs owner Patrick Dumont doubles down on Luka Doncic criticisms after baffling Mavs trade

"If you look at the greats in the league, the people you and I grew up with — [Michael] Jordan, [Larry] Bird, Kobe [Bryant], Shaq [O’Neal] — they worked really hard, every day, with a singular focus to win,” Dumont told The Dallas Morning News. “And if you don’t have that, it doesn’t work. And if you don’t have that, you shouldn’t be part of the Dallas Mavericks."

He appeared to double down when asked if he was referring directly to Doncic as a player who does not align with those winning ideals.

"Look, I think there’s a lot of things that come into play when you decide the roster of the team. And culture is very important. That’s what we’re focused on."

Just an incredible lack of awareness and insight all around. Does Dumont actually understand what he's saying? That Shaquille O'Neal was some notorious hard-working paragon of NBA fitness? That Doncic, who has been in the pros since he was 13 years old, somehow lacks the work ethic and dedication necessary to lead Dallas to the promised land? It's truly embarrassing stuff. The Mavs are scrambling to justify that which has no justification. You cannot ascribe logic to the illogical or find meaning in the meaningless. The Mavs are spinning their wheels attempting to come up with reasons that never really existed.

It's clear that Harrison and the Mavs' brass were irritated with Doncic's off-court habits. Harrison, a former Nike exec, is also a longtime business associate of Anthony Davis, which cannot be ignored here. Rather than basketball logic, the Mavs were more likely motivated by personal preference and a warped perspective of reality.

Doncic dragged Dallas to the Finals while playing 40-plus minutes a night in the postseason, battling through injury the whole way. He's one of the most gifted offensive weapons of all time, with a polished, dynamic skill set that only comes to fruition through years of tireless work.

The Lakers will love having Doncic in LA. The Mavs will come to regret not keeping him in Dallas.