Earlier this year, in May, Dallas Mavericks President Masai Ujiri addressed the Luka Doncic trade with such grace. He compared the bizarre situation to an African saying: “When kings go, kings come,” honoring both the Slovenian and his successor. For a moment, we all thought this was it, no more Doncic chatter. Out of the blue, though, Donald Trump is suddenly interested in pulling out his Uno reverse card.

The POTUS was at the Mavericks’ arena for the GOP’s annual midterm convention on Wednesday. It is safe to say he came with his talking points planned. In the process, he scratched an old wound from February 2025 that the Dallas faithful cannot let heal.

“This is a big Dallas Mavericks team, which is going to be hopefully good, I must tell you, I don’t understand the trade,” Trump said (via MeidasTouch editor @Acyn on X). “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.”

Drawing a historic parallel to Major League Baseball, Trump compared the league-altering NBA deal to the Boston Red Sox sending legendary slugger Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees in January 1920 for a reported $100,000, a move that proved to be a major blunder. Ruth went on to win four World Series titles with the Yankees.

“Babe will always be the worst trade. But is it Luka?” Trump asked before launching his proposal. “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. Somebody from Dallas, I’m sure, can explain it to me.”

The trade in question occurred in February 2025, when Dallas traded its 25-year-old cornerstone superstar to Los Angeles for nine-time All-Star power forward Anthony Davis, young guard Max Christie, and an unprotected 2029 first-round draft selection, in a deal that also involved Utah.

Timing mattered the most, and it was disastrous. Doncic was in the middle of a strong 2024-25 season. He was also coming off a sensational 2023–24 campaign in which he led the Mavericks to the 2024 Finals while capturing the scoring title with an average of 33.9 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 9.8 assists. Although GM Nico Harrison called it a win-now move for Dallas, they fired him nine months later.

In fact, everything fell apart. Davis played only 29 games for them, and the Mavericks went 16-13 over that span. He was then traded to the Wizards in exchange for a package centered on future draft assets and salary relief to rebuild their roster around Cooper Flagg, whom Ujiri implied was their new king.

Doncic’s departure sparked debate among analysts and fans about sensible long-term roster construction, how far one should go for cap flexibility, and competitive timelines… The trade didn’t make sense to anyone. Interestingly, though, this isn’t the first time Doncic and Trump have been mentioned together.

In April 2025, Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta claimed he had a chance to meet Trump at the White House, and they discussed the “dumba*s” Doncic trade. Minority Mavericks owner Mark Cuban admitted he “didn’t agree with” trading Doncic, but even if Dallas wanted to, they should’ve at least gotten a better-stacked deal.

At the time, former Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd had also compared the Doncic trade to the Babe Ruth move and called it “cool,” but instead of calming the fanbase, he angered it further because it was the worst possible analogy in that context. Here’s how.

The thing is, after Ruth moved to the Yankees, the Red Sox didn’t win another World Series title for 86 years, and the whole saga is remembered as the “Curse of Bambino.” By contrast, before the drought, Boston won five of the first 15 World Series, more than any MLB team. So, no one wants to be on Boston’s end of things, which, in this case, the Mavericks were, and weirdly, Kidd celebrated it…

Doncic, though devastated inside, has spoken openly about the move ever since. He admitted that he dreamed of staying a Maverick “forever” and that, despite the Harrison blunder, the Mavericks will always be “a special place” for him.

Meanwhile, the Slovenian’s transition to Southern California has reinvigorated the Lakers’ core, placing LA back in firm contention near the top of the Western Conference. With LeBron James’ exit, Rob Pelinka has completely reshaped the roster around Doncic and his new backcourt partner, Austin Reaves, adding Walker Kessler, Sandro Mamukelashvili and more pieces.

On the other hand, the Mavericks are trying to rebuild again. They cleared out the front office and management, bringing in Masai Ujiri and new head coach Dusty May. Another positive is that Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg will have Kyrie Irving alongside him, who’s been training hard after rehab from his torn ACL.

May and Dallas’ ceiling next season depends heavily on whether Irving can return to his pre-injury form, when he averaged 24.7 points and 4.6 assists per game. Max Christie, who made an impressive 40 percent of his threes last season, appears ready for a bigger role. The Mavericks have also used the offseason to sign big forwards Santi Aldama and Zaccharie Risacher.

So, Trump’s commentary inside American Airlines Center adds another footnote to a turning point in Dallas. While the league’s collective bargaining agreement and trade rules make any literal “redo” of the transaction impossible, the reaction from those in attendance at his speech underscored how deeply the Doncic trade still resonates with the Dallas fanbase and the broader sports landscape.

Never say never, though. Doncic is on a three-year Lakers contract and has a player option for the 2028-29 season. Just saying.