For over two decades, Mark Cuban was the driving force behind the Dallas Mavericks. But things have changed. He’s no longer the majority owner, and with that shift came a move that no one saw coming—the shocking trade that sent Luka Doncic to the Lakers. But who actually pulled the trigger on this deal, Cuban or the new owner?

Longtime NBA insider Marc Stein reported it was Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison who made the call. But the fallout was immediate. Bleacher Report highlighted how the trade triggered a domino effect, with injuries piling up and derailing the team’s championship hopes. What was supposed to be a bold new chapter for the Mavs quickly turned into a nightmare. Now, they’re hanging onto the ninth seed in the Western Conference, fighting to stay in the playoff picture. And the franchise’s struggles since the blunder aren’t going unnoticed.

Former Warriors player Matt Barnes weighed in on the situation during an episode of All the Smoke, saying Cuban deserved some of the blame. The clip went viral, sparking mixed reactions from fans, one of whom disagreed: “You’re a legend, Matt but this takes just plain wrong.” That led Barnes to double down, dropping another video to clarify his stance tagging the comment.

“I said Mark has to take some of the blame for the sale,” Barnes explained. “By no means am I blaming him for the dumb a– s— that has gone on since the sale, but what I meant was Mark created one of the best organizations in professional sports, was widely known as one of the best owners.” His point? Cuban built something special, and he couldn’t just walk away without some accountability.

“This is his baby,” Barnes continued. “He’s worked the past 20-plus years on building one of the best organizations in sports, and I feel like there had to be some kind of red flags… just a simple Google search of this group of people, of new ownership, and you’ll see what I’m talking about.”

He made it clear that while he still respects Mark Cuban, he believes Cuban could have been more careful in choosing the new ownership, and now it’s falling apart. “Dallas was a destination… and this new ownership is sinking all the hard work Mark put into it.” But his previous take laid the blame squarely on someone else. Matt Barnes blames new owner rather than Mark Cuban.

When the Luka Doncic trade went down, Mavericks GM Nico Harrison took most of the heat. Fans and analysts alike blamed him for the shocking move, but Matt Barnes had a different take. He believed the real culprit wasn’t Harrison—or even Mark Cuban. Instead, Barnes pointed the finger at Mavericks owner Patrick Dumont, calling him out for how he handled the situation.

Back in February on All the Smoke, Barnes didn’t hold back. “I had a hard time with him trying to kick Luka on the way out, disrespecting him every step of the way,” Barnes said. “This is a guy who, from everything we researched, has no history in sports and particularly no history in basketball. This guy married into money and was gifted this position.”

Barnes also made it clear that he hoped the Mavericks could move forward without Doncic. But at the same time, he wasn’t going to let Dumont off the hook. As part of the Adelson group that took over from Cuban, Dumont inherited the power and his ties to the team were too simple: he’s married to Miriam Adelson’s daughter, Sivan Ochshorn.

“Mr. Dumont, take a step back. Take a seat. You know nothing about hard work or what it takes to be great,” Barnes said. “You married into money. Sit with this trade that you made.” His words were harsh, but they struck a nerve. After all, would Harrison have traded Doncic without ownership’s push? What do you think?