Mavericks CEO reveals if team regrets trading Luka Doncic to Lakers

The Dallas Mavericks have been in an odd situation since trading their young superstar.

Most times, a team losing a superstar means a significant dropoff in the team’s level of play and expectations. However, the Mavericks still expect to be one of the top teams in the West again next season.

Although the Mavericks could indeed be one of the league’s best teams next season, there is almost nothing that will get Dallas fans to forgive the team for trading Luka Doncic. With Doncic soon eligible to lock down his future as a Los Angeles Laker, Dallas will likely run into its former star for quite some time.

Although most Dallas fans were incredibly unhappy with the trade, Mavericks CEO Rick Welts doesn’t quite feel the same. Recently, he was interviewed on Bloomberg TV and revealed his thoughts about the situation and whether he regrets the deal.

— Kevin Gray Jr. (@KevinGraySports) July 30, 2025

“You can’t have fears or regrets in this business; it’s all about how you move forward,” Welts said. “So, it doesn’t really serve a purpose to have regrets. What I will say, I learned about the depth of the connection between Mavericks fans and this team.”

Overall, it appears that Welts was one of the many folks in Dallas’ front office who were unaware of how the trade might be received by the fans. Beyond the simple fact that Doncic had just led the team to its first NBA Finals in 13 years, the superstar truly had a home in Texas, and fans rallied around him as much as the organization itself.

Now, as fans watch their favorite player continue his career elsewhere, they can only think about what might have been in Dallas. In any case, both sides have begun to move on, with the Mavericks looking at what the Cooper Flagg era might bring and Doncic trying to find his own path again on the West Coast.