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.

Mark Cuban has never been one to hold his tongue, and the former Dallas Mavericks owner proved that once again when he broke his silence on the team’s blockbuster trade of Luka Dončić. The Mavericks shocked everyone in the NBA when they traded Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis and potential starter Max Christie.

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.