Luka Dončić was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in a move that shocked the world. After the Dallas Mavericks traded him, more reports came out about how little the Mavericks believed in him.
Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison has received the full brunt of criticism for trading Dončić. However, Matt Barnes believes that Mavericks owner Patrick Dumont deserves more ire for the Dončić trade.
Matt Barnes Doesn’t Hold Back Defending Luka Dončić, Criticizing Patrick Dumont
On “All The Smoke,” Barnes explained why he took issue with how Dumont handled the situation.
“I had a hard time with him trying to kick Luka on the way out, disrespecting him every step of the way,” Barnes said. “This is a guy who, from everything we researched, has no history in sports and particularly no history in basketball. This guy married into money and was gifted this position.”
Barnes added that he hopes the Mavericks will manage well from here with Dončić gone. At the same time, he did not hold back when firing some shots at Dumont, who was part of the Adelsons group that purchased the majority of the Mavs from Mark Cuban. Dumont is married to Miriam Adelson’s daughter, Sivan Ochshorn.
“Mr. Dumont, take a step back. Take a seat. You know nothing about hard work or what it takes to be great. You married into money. Sit with this trade that you made. Hopefully, Anthony Davis gets healthy, and I wish the Dallas Mavericks the best moving forward, but shut the f*** up, man.”
“This situation was above Nico [Harrison]. This had to be coming from the top.”
Matt Barnes calls out Mavericks owner Patrick Dumont for his public comments about Luka Doncic after the trade.
Catch an all-new episode of ALL THE SMOKE Unplugged, available now on our YouTube! pic.twitter.com/lNEJJK4riw
— All the Smoke Productions (@allthesmokeprod) February 12, 2025
Barnes’ words are pretty harsh, but Dumont has indeed been mostly exempt from the overwhelmingly bad press that’s come Dallas’ way since getting rid of Dončić. It seems highly unlikely that Harrison would have made the move if he hadn’t first consulted ownership about it.
The truth is, the Dončić trade is unprecedented — and not just because of his talent. The Mavericks are coming off a run to the NBA Finals, which no one saw coming, and it was primarily because of Dončić’s efforts. To trade him away after how quickly he brought success to Dallas was shockingly aggressive.
Now, if the Mavericks manage to win a title with the core they have or get a franchise player to replace Dončić, then the trade will be more palatable, and Harrison and Dumont will get more credit. However, until that happens, they deserve the level of criticism they’ve received. Harrison is definitely not guiltless in the matter, but Dumont certainly isn’t either.
