By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
In an appearance on the Club 520 Podcast, 67-year-old billionaire and former Dallas Mavericks principal owner Mark Cuban revisited how he nearly brought the late Kobe Bryant to Texas in a blockbuster trade in 2007.
The deal, which occurred while Cuban was competing on Season 5 of Dancing with the Stars, would have paired Bryant with Dirk Nowitzki to create one of the most formidable duos in NBA history. Cuban recalled the intensity of the negotiations, noting that he spent his breaks between rehearsals speaking with Bryant’s agent, Rob Pelinka.
“I talked to Dr. Buss, and he was ready to do it,” Cuban said. “And it was like two first, Josh Howard and Jason Terry for Kobe. And I thought, ‘Okay, this is done’.”
The transaction was so certain that Cuban even informed a production assistant on set that the deal was finalized before returning to practice dancing moves. However, the momentum shifted abruptly when Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak intervened. “Then we got a call from Rob that Mitch Kupchak had talked Kobe out of it,” Cuban remembered how close he was to reaching a deal.
The ambition of the trade was to unite the two legends, a vision so compelling that even Nowitzki was prepared to sacrifice his own spot on the roster. Cuban revealed a discussion with the German legend, who spent his entire 21-season career in Dallas, where Nowitzki told him, “You can trade me. I would trade me for Kobe, too.” Cuban maintained that the entire strategy was built around the two playing together, not replacing one with the other.
This missed opportunity stands in stark contrast to the 2025 trade that eventually sent Slovenian superstar Luka Doncic to the Lakers, a move Cuban has since characterized across various media appearances as a poor decision that fundamentally altered the franchise’s trajectory.
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