Mark Cuban says he had no part in the Dallas Mavericks’ decision to trade Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers, claiming he was shut out of the process.

“There were some things that happened internally where the person who traded Luka didn’t want me there,” Cuban said during a panel at the All-In Summit last weekend in Los Angeles. “So, they won. I lost.”

Cuban did not mention Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison by name, but it is widely known that Harrison led the deal that sent Dončić to Los Angeles in exchange for Anthony Davis eight months after Dallas lost in the NBA Finals.

Cuban hired Harrison in 2021, when he still owned a majority stake in the team. That dynamic changed after Cuban sold control of the franchise to the Adelson family in December 2023, leaving Harrison to report directly to governor Patrick Dumont.

Cuban said he tried to include language in the sale agreement ensuring he would remain in charge of basketball operations, but the league rejected it.

“I f—ed up. When I did the deal, the presumption was that I would still be running basketball,” Cuban said. “We tried putting it in the contract. But the NBA said, ‘The governor is the governor, and they make all final decisions.’”

Before the sale, Cuban remained involved in the team’s front office. At the 2024 trade deadline, the Mavericks acquired P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford, moves that helped spark a run to the Finals.

“I was involved, and then we went on this run where we went to the finals, and rather than try interjecting myself all the time, I was like, ‘I don’t want to get in the way, we’re rolling,’” Cuban said. “And that was a mistake.”

The Dončić trade drew backlash from Mavericks fans, who called for Harrison’s removal and cheered Dončić when he returned to Dallas in April and scored 45 points. For Cuban, it was another reminder that the franchise he once controlled no longer moves at his direction.