Mar 16, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Mark Cuban reacts against the Philadelphia 76ers during the second half at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Mark Cuban drops bold take on Mavericks frontcourt

Originally posted on Dallas Mavericks on SI
By Austin Veazey | Last updated Apr 5, 2025 2:36 PM ET

The Dallas Mavericks' decision to trade Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers has continued to catch flack from the NBA world, despite the trade happening over two months ago. It was such a shocking move and is one that will be talked about for decades.

Mark Cuban has been involved with the criticism, believing the Mavericks should've gotten more in return for the Slovenian superstar, as the team only got Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and one future first-round pick in return for a player who made five First-Team All-NBAs in his first six seasons. But it seems that he's coming around on the deal, dropping a bold take on an appearance with Stephen A. Smith.

"You know the truth is between AD, Dereck Lively, and [Daniel] Gafford, that's the best big 3 in the NBA. But Luka Doncic is a generational talent.”

He probably didn't mean the best collection of three players, but rather those being the best three members of a frontcourt in the NBA. And he might not be wrong; Davis is still an incredibly skilled player when he's healthy, as evidenced by his performance against the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night, while Gafford and Lively are both skilled rim-runners and shot-blockers with the potential to keep growing their offensive games.

But we've yet to really see the collection of Lively, Gafford, and Davis in the same game. They all checked in against the Hawks, but they're all still nursing and recovering from injuries, so Lively was limited to 16 minutes, for example. Plus, Davis had to go get a bandage over his eye after the first quarter, cutting into the time together with the other bigs. How it'll work in a postseason setting will be important.

This article first appeared on Dallas Mavericks on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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