President Trump's speech at the Republican National Committee convention touched on the polarizing NBA trade that sent superstar guard Luka Dončić from the Mavericks to the Lakers.
Page S2From§Eachthe breakfast edition — 10 September 2026
Trump jokes about redoing Mavericks trade, then demands Mavericks redo Mavericks trade.
As it ran on the front
This reporter has seen many a deal gone awry, but seldom does a former president take to the airwaves to lament the particulars of an NBA trade—and then, with all the bravado of an armchair GM, demand that it be redone. First, Trump cracks wise about the Luka Dončić trade, a move that Dallas fans still debate. Then, he pivots from jest to demand, unloading on the Mavericks and insisting the deal needs to be revisited. In the world of professional basketball, trades are inked and sealed; the league’s calendar moves forward. But here, the sequence is not just a quip but a call to action. The joke becomes the ask, and the ask becomes the headline. This reporter is reminded of the 1981 Knicks-Celtics swap (which, upon further review, actually happened in 1978), but the principle is the same: the rug-pull is that the president’s punchline is the Mavericks’ invoice. TRUDY: Gus, you’re off by a decade again—Dončić was drafted in 2018, not 1981, and the Mavericks traded for him that night. The receipts show Trump’s speech was an actual demand, not just banter. HOTMIC: You know, if the league ran like Congress, every trade would be a committee hearing and the salary cap would be a filibuster. TRUDY: Sugar, sports trades are irrevocable. The NBA’s collective bargaining agreement doesn’t allow retroactive deal-making, and neither does the Constitution.…
Gushis side
This reporter has seen many a deal gone awry, but seldom does a former president take to the airwaves to lament the particulars of an NBA trade—and then, with all the bravado of an armchair GM, demand that it be redone. First, Trump cracks wise about the Luka Dončić trade, a move that Dallas fans still debate. Then, he pivots from jest to demand, unloading on the Mavericks and insisting the deal needs to be revisited. In the world of professional basketball, trades are inked and sealed; the league’s calendar moves forward. But here, the sequence is not just a quip but a call to action. The joke becomes the ask, and the ask becomes the headline. This reporter is reminded of the 1981 Knicks-Celtics swap (which, upon further review, actually happened in 1978), but the principle is the same: the rug-pull is that the president’s punchline is the Mavericks’ invoice. TRUDY: Gus, you’re off by a decade again—Dončić was drafted in 2018, not 1981, and the Mavericks traded for him that night. The receipts show Trump’s speech was an actual demand, not just banter. HOTMIC: You know, if the league ran like Congress, every trade would be a committee hearing and the salary cap would be a filibuster. TRUDY: Sugar, sports trades are irrevocable. The NBA’s collective bargaining agreement doesn’t allow retroactive deal-making, and neither does the Constitution.
Trudyher side
“The guy who couldn't get a deal done wants to rewrite NBA history. It's all fun and games until he starts demanding do-overs in real life. You know what else he's trying to redo? Democracy.”
“Look, he’s just being relatable, like any sports fan. If you think about it, everyone wishes they could change a bad trade. Did I say he demanded it? It’s just locker room talk. Wait, was there an actual ask? Well, that’s just how sports banter works.”
The receipts
President Donald Trump ripped the Dallas Mavericks for trading Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers, saying it could be the ‘worst trade in the history of sports.’
This page is a back-issue: the story as it ran, receipts as they were. The current edition is at the front.