It’s conditioning. No, it’s the salary. No, someone hacked the Mav’s email account…
Forget everything you’ve been told about the Dallas Mavericks’ boneheaded trade of Luka Doncic to the Lakers. Everyone, and I mean everyone, knows the Lakers came out on top. Pretty much all the Mavericks received for one of the top three players in the NBA was an aging player who stays injured more than Doncic and contributes much less to the team. But what about that first-round draft pick? Seriously? Previous NBA trades for players of much lesser caliber than Doncic warranted three or four first-round picks! The real basis of the Dallas Mavericks-Lakers trade centered around the state of gambling in Texas.
Gambling in the state of Texas
In December 2023, Mark Cuban sold the Mavericks to billionaire casino mogul Miriam Adelson, whose family has strong connections to the gambling industry in Las Vegas. Since gambling is illegal in Texas, no casinos exist there. Adelson believed she could change this. However, Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick recently stated that there are no plans to legalize gambling in the state anytime soon. The results of the November elections have shifted Texas even further to the right, leaving the Adelsons facing a significant political obstacle.
In response, Adelson traded away their star player to piss off the fanbase. The arena will remain empty, and when Adelson starts talking about moving the team to Vegas, the locals and NBA owners won’t be as opposed to the move. Otherwise, moving the team away from Dallas would not be an easy sell, given that the Mavericks boast the league’s highest attendance numbers for home games. Under this theory, Adelson made the trade to end the franchise, not build a new one. It’s sneaky and conniving – just like the back office secrecy behind this trade.
The Las Vegas Mavericks
I predict that the Dallas Mavericks will become the Las Vegas Mavericks within three years. Meanwhile, the San Antonio Spurs might relocate to Austin or possibly Dallas and stop poaching fans from the Houston Rockets. One major factor that could disrupt this plan, however, is the potential NBA expansion to include teams in Seattle and Las Vegas before Adelson finalizes her plans.
Of course, there’s a slight chance that Adelson just wants to use the Mavericks’ move to Vegas as leverage in gambling negotiations with the state. That probably won’t work, though. Or perhaps Adelson is simply an idiot, not cut out for the big leagues, and the Lakers took advantage of her.
