Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic. Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images

Rival owner mocks Mavericks for Luka Doncic trade

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated Apr 24, 2025 3:09 PM ET

A rival NBA owner has taken to publicly mocking the Dallas Mavericks over their trade of Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta spoke at a celebration of the Houston Cougars’ college basketball season recently, and snuck in a pointed jab at the Mavericks. Fertitta, a major Cougars booster, said he had discussed Houston’s season with President Trump during a recent meeting, but did not stop there.

“I was in the White House, in the Oval Office, with the Prime Minister of Italy and the President last Thursday, and we talked about the Houston Cougars, I can promise you, for at least a minute and a half. Then we talked about that dumba– Luka Doncic trade that Dallas did,” Fertitta said.

SHOTS FIRED

At a Houston Cougar season celebration, Rockets owner, Tilman Fertitta spoke on how he recently had a chance to speak to President Trump about his Coogs.

He followed that up with:

“And then we talked about that dumbass Luka Doncic trade Dallas did” pic.twitter.com/RpzV10Q8Fj
— Chancellor Johnson (@ChancellorTV) April 24, 2025

One might debate whether it is appropriate for Fertitta to be taking shots at a rival team like this, especially since they share a state and even a division. However, he has done this sort of thing before, and he is hardly the only one mocking the Mavericks for the Doncic move. If anything, he might deserve some credit for doing it in public instead of doing it anonymously.

The Rockets can certainly take a victory lap over the Mavericks right now, though. They evened their Western Conference first round series against Golden State on Wednesday night, and their future looks tremendously bright. That is in contrast to the Mavericks, who crashed out in the play-in tournament after trading Doncic in February. Their older core has less room to grow, and the Rockets could stay ahead of them for a long time if they play their cards right.

Fertitta is actually in line for a job in the Trump administration, so he might be taking a step back from his NBA ownership role in the near future. Perhaps that’s part of why he doesn’t mind calling out another team so blatantly.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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