NBA Commissioner Adam Silver defends Dallas Mavericks’ trade of Luka Doncic
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is the latest to weigh in on the Dallas Mavericks’ trade of Luka Doncic.
Appearing on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Thursday, Silver discussed the Doncic trade and the idea that the franchise would leave the city of Dallas.
“In terms of the trade itself, it’s obvious that time will tell, the only place where I feel defensive on behalf of the Dallas Mavericks and new ownership there is there were some suggestions early on that the trade wasn’t done for basketball reasons,” said Silver. “The only thing I can say, and I feel very confident in this knowing Patrick Dumont ... they believed that they were making the best trade on behalf of the Dallas Mavericks. Whether that turns out to be true, again, only time will tell.”
Fans speculated that the team traded Doncic to devalue the franchise before attempting to move. Both Mavs general manager Nico Harrison and Dumont have stated the team has no intentions of leaving Dallas.
Silver also defended Harrison, who has been harshly criticized, saying that the trade notwithstanding, he is a good person.
“I’ve known Nico for a long time, Nico Harrison, he was a long-time executive at Nike before he was at Dallas Mavericks again whether or not he made the right trade he’s a really decent person, I know he’s trying to do the best he can to run that franchise,” said Silver.
The Mavs will have a chance to keep their season alive when they play the Memphis Grizzlies at 8:30 p.m. on Friday in the Play-In Tournament in a win-or-go-home game.
This story was originally published April 17, 2025 at 2:44 PM.
