During a speech at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas, former President Donald Trump voiced strong disapproval of a blockbuster trade that sent Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers. Trump, speaking at the American Airlines Center, interrupted his remarks on national issues to address the February 2025 trade.
"I must tell you, I don’t understand the trade. That trade is not good," Trump stated. He further elaborated, "It's not going to go down as the greatest trade in the history of sports. It might go down as the worst trade in the history of sports." He later suggested the possibility of redoing the deal, remarking, "Maybe we could redo that trade. I redo deals all the time. ... I understand deals. But that one, I didn’t quite get."
The trade, which sent the 25-year-old Doncic to Los Angeles in exchange for Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a 2029 first-round pick, is still considered a significant midseason transaction in basketball. The deal was reportedly kept confidential between then-general manager Nico Harrison and Lakers' executive Rob Pelinka, with no other teams being aware of Doncic's potential availability.
Despite the trade, the Mavericks subsequently won the NBA Draft Lottery and selected Cooper Flagg with the first overall pick. However, Davis was later traded by Dallas to Washington in February 2026.
After his commentary on the basketball trade, Trump transitioned back to discussing his planned topics of oil prices and Iran.