Trump questions Luka Doncic trade and urges Dallas Mavericks to reconsider

Donald Trump has criticised the Dallas Mavericks’ decision to trade Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers, suggesting the NBA deal may rank among the worst in sporting history.

Speaking at a Republican Party conference in Dallas, Texas, the US president said he could not understand why the Mavericks had agreed to the move.

“This is a great team, the Dallas Mavericks, and I hope they will be good… I have to tell you, I don’t understand the Doncic trade,” Trump said. “What do I know about basketball? I would say it will not go down in history as the greatest trade in sport. It may go down as the worst trade in sport.”

Trump recommended that the Mavericks review the decision to send Doncic to the Lakers. Dallas is the team for which Spaniards Santi Aldama and Sergio De Larrea will play this season.

The president also offered his own assessment of the worst transaction in sporting history, identifying the deal that took Babe Ruth from the Boston Red Sox to the New York Yankees.

On 26 December 1919, the Red Sox sent Ruth to the Yankees in a direct sale worth $100,000 in cash, a record amount at the time, together with a $300,000 loan.

The transfer became the basis of what was later known as the Curse of the Bambino. The Yankees went from having no titles to winning four World Series titles with Ruth, while the Red Sox endured an 86-year wait for a championship.

“Babe Ruth’s trade will remain the worst. But… is the Doncic trade the worst? This is not good. Was it good? Perhaps we can renegotiate that trade,” Trump added.

“I renegotiate deals all the time. We have to renegotiate. We have to renegotiate that trade. I don’t understand that trade.”

He continued: “As you know, there are deals you can understand. I understand deals, but I did not understand that particular deal.”

Trump’s comments came weeks after he was involved in controversy during the 2026 World Cup. He acknowledged intervening with FIFA to review and overturn the red card and suspension given to United States forward Folarin Balogun in the match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, allowing him to play against Belgium.

The intervention marked another example of the president becoming involved in sporting matters, this time turning his attention to one of the NBA’s most significant moves. Trump again suggested that the Mavericks should reverse the Doncic trade.