In an interview on Haymaker Network, Mark Cuban revealed that one member of the Mavericks’ front office tried to stop the move engineered by former General Manager Nico Harrison that sent Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for a package centered around Anthony Davis. 

Multiple reports indicated Doncic’s conditioning level and off-the-court habits, such as drinking beer and smoking hookah, were key factors in Harrison’s decision to trade him.

“When I talked to Patrick [Dumont] about it, you could just tell that Nico just s— on Luka, just s— on him bad because some of the stuff that Patrick was telling me was not true,” Cuban said. “And kudos to [Michael Finley] for really trying to stand up and block it.

“I’m just telling you, from talking right after to people, [Finley] was the guy who said, ‘This is the wrong thing to do.’ “

Cuban said he’s campaigning for Masai Ujiri, the team’s new president of basketball operations, to keep Finley on staff. 

“Part of my one conversation with [Masai Ujiri] is, look, [Finley] is our legacy guy,” Cuban said. “You need somebody there that’s a connection to the past and knows everybody, that’s been there a while. My strong recommendation is that you keep Michael Finley. He didn’t say anything one way or the other, just said ‘thank you’ and that was it.”