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When Dallas Mavericks CEO Rick Welts learned about the Luka Doncic trade with the Los Angeles Lakers, he thought it was a prank call. He was informed roughly an hour before it became national news.
In a recent interview, Welts reflected on the aftermath of the blockbuster deal, which landed the Mavericks All-Star center Anthony Davis, and the memorable night at American Airlines Arena when Doncic returned for the first time as a Laker.
When asked if he or the organization had any regrets over the deal, Welts opened up about the Mavericks' future, per Bloomberg TV.
“You can't have fear or regrets in this business, right? It's all about how you move forward. So it doesn't really serve a purpose to have regrets,” Welts said.
“But, what I will say: I learned about the depth of the connection between Mavericks fans and this team, and that, to me, was glass half full because I knew we could restore that over time. I didn't think it would happen quite as quickly, perhaps as it's happened”
Welts discussed Doncic's return to Dallas and the emotional night it was for Luka and the Mavericks fans.
“I'm incredibly proud of how the organization presented itself for Luka's first game back at American Airlines Center when he was a Los Angeles Laker,” Welts added. “I think if you watch that game, it was an opportunity for fans to say thank you.
“I think you saw the emotion on Luka's face. You saw the way that night unfolded and tributes to Luka. I think he'll always be such a big part of the history here.
“And we wish him nothing but good luck, but we also hope we beat his team every time we play [the Lakers] going forward,” Welts concluded.
"You can't have fear or regrets in this business… we wish him nothing but good luck, but we also hope we beat his team every time we play [the Lakers] going forward."
Mavs CEO Rick Welts on if they regret trading Luka Doncic 🗣
(via @BloombergTV)pic.twitter.com/A4zRFVCuAF
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) August 1, 2025
Mavericks CEO thought Luka Doncic trade call was a prank
The Mavericks' Luka Doncic trade sent shockwaves across the NBA, including the team CEO Rick Welts, who thought he received a prank phone call when he was first informed. Welts revealed the moment at WSJ's The Future of Everything Event in May.
“I'm like, ‘who is this? Who is this really?' So yeah, I found out about an hour before you did,” Welts said. “My first 30 days in Dallas were awesome. The next 100 not so much. It was an incredibly rough ride until a couple Mondays ago when it got a lot better.”
Now, Welts is looking forward to the Mavericks' highly anticipated 2025-26 campaign.
