Cuban shares! American media mock Nico: Trading Doncic downgraded you from private jets to economy class.

On March 29 Beijing time, Mavericks media MFFL posted a update from former Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. Cuban shared a clip from American media mocking former Mavericks GM Nico Harrison, where the media posted a video of Nico waiting in the boarding area and commented sarcastically: "Trading Doncic has lowered you from flying private jets to economy class on public airlines."

When Doncic arrived in the league from Slovenia, he was already recognized as a superstar prospect, showing incredible potential from his rookie season. By his second year, he was selected to the NBA All-First Team, consistently featured in MVP discussions, and nearly every year led the Mavericks to the playoffs.

Later, he delivered his career peak performance: leading the league in scoring and guiding the Mavericks to their first Finals appearance since 2011, the third in franchise history.

Yet, in early February 2025, late at night, Harrison approved an utterly absurd trade.

With almost no bidding from other teams, this five-time All-NBA superstar was sent to the Los Angeles Lakers. At the time, the disgraced GM justified it with the phrase "defense wins championships," explaining his decision to acquire Anthony Davis.

He also tried to portray Doncic as a "high injury-risk player," but that claim quickly became a joke: Davis played only 29 games for the Mavericks before being traded to the Washington Wizards. The Mavericks fell out of playoff contention and instead lucked into a lottery pick for Cooper Flagg.

Even into the 2025-26 season, the team remained noncompetitive, almost certain to finish among the bottom three in the West. Although Harrison no longer ran the Mavericks, his move left a massive hole that would be hard to fill for years.

Given Doncic's current performance, the Mavericks are unlikely to replicate the success he brought anytime soon. This season so far, Doncic has played 62 regular-season games for the Lakers, averaging 36 minutes per game, with 33.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, 8.2 assists, and 1.6 steals, shooting 47% from the field and 36% from three-point range. Notably, Doncic currently leads the league in scoring.