President used his appearance in Dallas to dunk all over the Mavericks infamous trade of Luka DonÄiÄ.
Speaking at the Republican National Committees midterm convention on Wednesday night, Trump stood in American Airlines Center, the old home of DonÄiÄ before being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, where he added a major jab to the Mavericks midway through his remarks.
“I must tell you, I dont understand the trade,” he said. “That trade is not good.”
DonÄiÄ, Maxi Kleber, and Markieff Morris were traded to the Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round draft pick in February 2025.
It was a deal that sent a shockwave through the entire NBA. In fact, sports fans in general were baffled that DonÄiÄ would be teaming up with LeBron James out west, while the Mavericks traded away their franchise cornerstone.
After all, DonÄiÄ carried the Mavericks to the 2024 NBA Finals just the season prior.
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So, Trump didnt mince words about how he felt this trade would go down in history.
“Its not going to go down as the greatest trade in the history of sports,” he said. “It might go down as the worst trade in the history of sports.”
Trump did say, though, that Babe Ruth being traded from the Boston Red Sox to the New York Yankees remains the worst trade in sports history. But he thinks the Mavericks will get to the point where they regret dealing DonÄiÄ away.
He even joked to “redo” it.
“Maybe we can redo that trade?” Trump said. “I redo deals all the time.”
The Dallas crowd gave Trump a loud cheer when he mentioned it, which is hardly surprising considering how unhappy Mavs fans were when GM Nico Harrison dealt DonÄiÄ. Some fans even held a “funeral” for DonÄiÄ outside American Airlines Center, mourning the loss of their franchise star.
DonÄiÄ never requested a trade from the Mavericks, which made it even more surprising. Also, the Mavericks exclusively spoke with the Lakers about the trade instead of getting the best offer from across the league.
Harrison strongly defended the decision at the time, arguing that “defense wins championships” when justifying the move to trade DonÄiÄ for a rim protector in Davis. However, Harrisons mindset didnt show up on the court, and he was eventually ousted from his post in the front office.
The trade definitely looks better for the Lakers, though James is now playing for the Philadelphia 76ers entering the 2026-27 season. DonÄiÄ is averaging 31.9 points, 8.1 assists and 7.8 rebounds since joining Los Angeles.
