April 18, 2025 • 8 mins
The Ben and Skin Show unpacks details of Luka's interview with Malika Andrews where he expresses his anger and sadness about unexpectedly being traded. The episode kicks off with Luka recounting the night he was traded, describing his feelings of sadness and heartbreak. "I felt like my heart was broken, honestly," Luka confesses, capturing the raw emotion of the moment. The hosts discuss the impact of the trade on Luka, the Mavericks, and the fans, highlighting the controversy and criticism that followed.The hosts also explore the broader implications of the trade, including the Mavericks' strategy and the reactions from the basketball community. "Nico believes that Anthony Davis paired with Kyrie Irving was gonna win him a championship," Skin explains, adding depth to the discussion. The episode is filled with passionate debates, humorous quips, and thoughtful analysis that will resonate with listeners.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
All right, you're listening to the Benenscuin Show. We appreciate
you making us a part of your daily routine. If
you've been listening to us for a while, you know
that the Luca trade it is directly in our heart.
It has hurt our sports soul. But we've carried on
MAVs basketball tonight. By the way, the play in tournament continues.
Good luck to the Mavericks to night against the Grizzlies.
That game will be right here on the Eagle. But
there's also other news today with regard to the Mavericks,
(00:22):
and that is that Luca did an interview, and now
that interview is out there in the world, and so
we'll get to take a listen.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
What do you got to key?
Speaker 3 (00:30):
Yeah, I don't know if it's the full interview or
how long you sit down, but the clip that's been
servicing is about two minutes. So, yeah, this is Luca
on ESPN with Malika Andrews.
Speaker 4 (00:39):
The night you're traded and you threw it.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Yes, do you have that phone? Yeah?
Speaker 4 (00:44):
You still use that phone?
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Yeah, it still works.
Speaker 4 (00:48):
Let's go back to the night that you were traded.
Can you just take me through what you did that night.
Speaker 5 (00:53):
Well, I was actually in the bed. No, my tea
wasn't working, so I was a nightpay watching movie about
to go to sleep. For seeing us said like probably
three times.
Speaker 4 (01:01):
Just say you first, What are you feeling in that moment?
Speaker 5 (01:05):
Suddence. Mostly I was still in shock, like crazy shock,
and I was, I mean, I felt like my heart
was broken. Honest.
Speaker 4 (01:13):
Where did you rank that in terms of your all
time performances?
Speaker 5 (01:17):
I would say top one, just because it was so special,
you know, with the fans, with teammates just being there.
It was something I've never seen in my life and
it was just just specially the love between me and
the fans.
Speaker 4 (01:28):
On your way out of Dallas, some pretty pointed criticisms
of you on the floor, off of the floor, even
about your body.
Speaker 5 (01:35):
I'll me to just play from depends how you take it.
Mostly it came from Dallas, you know, so I just
didn't want to talk back, but I really read that
much stuff and just trying to focus on my journey.
Speaker 4 (01:46):
General manager Nico Harrison of the Dallas Mavericks, you had
this closed door, no cameras meeting with reporters. The reporter said,
you didn't believe that the team that went to the
finals last year with Luca as a centerpiece, could contend
and continue to contend for championships. And Nico Harrison said,
I'll say this again, defense wins championships. What do you
say to that?
Speaker 5 (02:05):
This is certain the way he's talking right now. But
I never say anything bad about him, and I just
want to move on the fans my ex teammates. I
always keep it hard. It's time too for me to
move on from that.
Speaker 4 (02:16):
Have you spoken to Nico Harrison since you left Dallas?
Speaker 3 (02:19):
No?
Speaker 4 (02:20):
Have you spoken to him on the night that you
were traded? No? Was your intention to finish your career
in Dallas?
Speaker 5 (02:25):
Of course, that's easy question.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Jesus, I was healing.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
This is why I avoid it. I don't look for
any Luca content at all. He's only going to make
you feel bad.
Speaker 6 (02:40):
Dude.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
I'm avoiding it. Dude.
Speaker 6 (02:41):
You don't want to see Luca go up against ant
Man starting tomorrow night.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
You know what I got in the mail yesterday? My
first bit of Lakers gear.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Oh what'd you get? I got some shorts? Got some
Lakers shorts. You should have gotten in Austin Reeves, Jersey.
There it is, and your Bingo card.
Speaker 6 (02:54):
Would you have felt different. I know it's tough, but
if they did get Austin Reeves out of the deal.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Oh yeah, no, it would still suck. But like they
should have gotten whatever else. Yeah, if they got Lebron back, man,
they went and dealt from a place of weakness. Listen,
we got a problem. We have to trade Luca because
of all these problems. And then Rob Polinka the gym
Lakers like, yeah, uh man, if we're gonna take this
guy off her hands, sounds like he's pretty flawed.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
I'm not gonna be able to give you that much
for him.
Speaker 6 (03:24):
If you think about several things jump out out of
that clip. If you think about the way that the
fan base has reacted to this in general, all of it,
every level of it, and especially whenever like the Nico.
You know, I would call it a private press conference
or a private media gathering. It wasn't secret, like people
(03:45):
knew it existed. But when you look at that, in
the way that the fan base has reacted to it,
to hear Luca say, it's sad what is being said
about him.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
I don't say anything bad about him him. You know,
we need to.
Speaker 6 (04:01):
Move on the way he phrases that that is going
to infuriate people.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Oh yeah, he's taking the high road. Yeah, and the
Mavericks are not. Once the Mavericks chose to make this decision,
and I say, the Mavericks once Nico and dude, don't
let Nico wear this on his own. Think I think
there was probably a vote, and I think there's a
lot of people that are lurking in the shadows that
aren't wearing any of this. He's wearing it all himself.
But whatever. When the Mavericks decided we were moving on
(04:28):
from him, that in itself is one thing a decision
to make. Then the return you get that's something else.
But at that point they were screwed because there's nothing
they can say. They can't say, well, other teams target
him defensively, he was a liability defensive pep like wait
what Like it's so emotional that you can't say anything.
So the best thing that could have happened is if
(04:49):
they had just stuck to their guns. First of all,
they shouldn't have come out and made a joke at
the first press conference, right, They should have understood read
the room a little bit, right, But they you know,
they should have said, Look, we were going in a
different direction. It's a lot of money to pay somebody.
We think his body, you know, he my body might
break down.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
We don't know.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
We believe this identity will help us win. That's the
only thing they could have done. Okay, here, and here's
what I'd say.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
I agree with you.
Speaker 6 (05:12):
But the problem is that there's there's absolutely nothing they
can say, because I would maintain, like, if you think
about the way Malika Andrews position that Nico did not say,
I think Luka Doncich's terrible defensively and his body is
going to break down. He said, defense wins Champion. Like
I think they're talking about the stuff that came out. Yeah, well, okay, again,
(05:34):
that's all like that's not Nico publicly saying anything. That's
reporters saying the Mavericks believe, you know. And that's that's
the problem with that sort of game, Like there's literally
nothing that Nico can say that the fan base will
be okay with.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
And that's why he hasn't talked.
Speaker 6 (05:52):
But and then he went out there and talked, and
he talked in kind of vague terms and everyone's like.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
Say, say, and he's like, I didn't say any.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
But also it's complicated because the return was so bad,
like that's probably the worst trade in the history of trading,
like in terms of the value return. And so there's
nothing that really can be said right, because that's a
problem itself, shortening the window by six years, getting an
older player, that in itself is problematic, not getting a
full return.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
There's so many problems for it.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
But unquestionably this Luca interview is going to hurt the
hearts of mass fans.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
Yeah, I think I like the way you said it there.
Speaker 6 (06:27):
There's there's so many problems with it that even things
that are valid, they can't be said right. They can't
because no one, you know, we talk about this all
the time. People have a reception strategy.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
You know.
Speaker 6 (06:39):
It's like they hear the things that they want to hear,
and there's literally nothing the man can say or do
that will justify it to anyone on the planet. And
so when he doesn't say anything, everyone kills him. And
then when he goes out and says stuff and he's
you know, it's dude, he's not like a dynamic public speaker,
so everyone kills him for what he says. And the
(07:00):
problem is the perception of the trade is established. Everyone
feels the way they feel, and there's literally nothing the
man can say. So killing him for not saying anything
and then killing him for saying something. That's just the
position the trade has.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
Put him in.
Speaker 6 (07:16):
Because the trade is universally hated except by Laker fans.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
It's like when it's it's summertime and you're like, well,
you know, I'm not gonna turn my air conditioner on. Like, no,
everyone turns the air conditioner on in the summer. It's
just such an obvious thing. And that's why conspiracy theories
about the team moving come up.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
Right.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
It makes crap like that easier to believe because the
trade is so bad.
Speaker 6 (07:37):
Did you see that Adam Silver stuff the other day
with Pat McAfee. Everyone's killing Adam Silver and he's like,
all I'm saying is it's not a conspiracy. We didn't
do this for ratings. Nico believes what he believes, and
he also said, I've known Nico a long time.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
He's a good person.
Speaker 6 (07:54):
But again, to your point, the trade is so poorly
received by not only maths but buy basketball media that
you immediately start making up crazy things to justify it
to yourself. And what I'm telling you is we've said this,
not just me saying this. Nico believes that Anthony Davis,
paired with Kyrie Irving, was going to win him a championship,
(08:15):
and he did not value the relationship between Luca and
the fans, and so he made a move that he
thought was going to bring a championship. And it's like, oh, well, wow,
this is how everybody feels. I thought everybody felt like
Brian Winhurst right right.
Speaker 3 (08:33):
The more we get, the more my nuts hurt. Yeah,
and I'm I'm avoided.
Speaker 6 (08:37):
All right, Mavericks Tonight, Lakers and Timberwolves start tomorrow night.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
Let's talk about the today game. It's fun. We'll do
it next right after this on The Eagle
All right, you're listening to the Benenscuin Show. We appreciate
you making us a part of your daily routine. If
you've been listening to us for a while, you know
that the Luca trade it is directly in our heart.
It has hurt our sports soul. But we've carried on
MAVs basketball tonight. By the way, the play in tournament continues.
Good luck to the Mavericks to night against the Grizzlies.
That game will be right here on the Eagle. But
there's also other news today with regard to the Mavericks,
(00:22):
and that is that Luca did an interview, and now
that interview is out there in the world, and so
we'll get to take a listen.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
What do you got to key?
Speaker 3 (00:30):
Yeah, I don't know if it's the full interview or
how long you sit down, but the clip that's been
servicing is about two minutes. So, yeah, this is Luca
on ESPN with Malika Andrews.
Speaker 4 (00:39):
The night you're traded and you threw it.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Yes, do you have that phone? Yeah?
Speaker 4 (00:44):
You still use that phone?
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Yeah, it still works.
Speaker 4 (00:48):
Let's go back to the night that you were traded.
Can you just take me through what you did that night.
Speaker 5 (00:53):
Well, I was actually in the bed. No, my tea
wasn't working, so I was a nightpay watching movie about
to go to sleep. For seeing us said like probably
three times.
Speaker 4 (01:01):
Just say you first, What are you feeling in that moment?
Speaker 5 (01:05):
Suddence. Mostly I was still in shock, like crazy shock,
and I was, I mean, I felt like my heart
was broken. Honest.
Speaker 4 (01:13):
Where did you rank that in terms of your all
time performances?
Speaker 5 (01:17):
I would say top one, just because it was so special,
you know, with the fans, with teammates just being there.
It was something I've never seen in my life and
it was just just specially the love between me and
the fans.
Speaker 4 (01:28):
On your way out of Dallas, some pretty pointed criticisms
of you on the floor, off of the floor, even
about your body.
Speaker 5 (01:35):
I'll me to just play from depends how you take it.
Mostly it came from Dallas, you know, so I just
didn't want to talk back, but I really read that
much stuff and just trying to focus on my journey.
Speaker 4 (01:46):
General manager Nico Harrison of the Dallas Mavericks, you had
this closed door, no cameras meeting with reporters. The reporter said,
you didn't believe that the team that went to the
finals last year with Luca as a centerpiece, could contend
and continue to contend for championships. And Nico Harrison said,
I'll say this again, defense wins championships. What do you
say to that?
Speaker 5 (02:05):
This is certain the way he's talking right now. But
I never say anything bad about him, and I just
want to move on the fans my ex teammates. I
always keep it hard. It's time too for me to
move on from that.
Speaker 4 (02:16):
Have you spoken to Nico Harrison since you left Dallas?
Speaker 3 (02:19):
No?
Speaker 4 (02:20):
Have you spoken to him on the night that you
were traded? No? Was your intention to finish your career
in Dallas?
Speaker 5 (02:25):
Of course, that's easy question.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Jesus, I was healing.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
This is why I avoid it. I don't look for
any Luca content at all. He's only going to make
you feel bad.
Speaker 6 (02:40):
Dude.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
I'm avoiding it. Dude.
Speaker 6 (02:41):
You don't want to see Luca go up against ant
Man starting tomorrow night.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
You know what I got in the mail yesterday? My
first bit of Lakers gear.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Oh what'd you get? I got some shorts? Got some
Lakers shorts. You should have gotten in Austin Reeves, Jersey.
There it is, and your Bingo card.
Speaker 6 (02:54):
Would you have felt different. I know it's tough, but
if they did get Austin Reeves out of the deal.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Oh yeah, no, it would still suck. But like they
should have gotten whatever else. Yeah, if they got Lebron back, man,
they went and dealt from a place of weakness. Listen,
we got a problem. We have to trade Luca because
of all these problems. And then Rob Polinka the gym
Lakers like, yeah, uh man, if we're gonna take this
guy off her hands, sounds like he's pretty flawed.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
I'm not gonna be able to give you that much
for him.
Speaker 6 (03:24):
If you think about several things jump out out of
that clip. If you think about the way that the
fan base has reacted to this in general, all of it,
every level of it, and especially whenever like the Nico.
You know, I would call it a private press conference
or a private media gathering. It wasn't secret, like people
(03:45):
knew it existed. But when you look at that, in
the way that the fan base has reacted to it,
to hear Luca say, it's sad what is being said
about him.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
I don't say anything bad about him him. You know,
we need to.
Speaker 6 (04:01):
Move on the way he phrases that that is going
to infuriate people.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Oh yeah, he's taking the high road. Yeah, and the
Mavericks are not. Once the Mavericks chose to make this decision,
and I say, the Mavericks once Nico and dude, don't
let Nico wear this on his own. Think I think
there was probably a vote, and I think there's a
lot of people that are lurking in the shadows that
aren't wearing any of this. He's wearing it all himself.
But whatever. When the Mavericks decided we were moving on
(04:28):
from him, that in itself is one thing a decision
to make. Then the return you get that's something else.
But at that point they were screwed because there's nothing
they can say. They can't say, well, other teams target
him defensively, he was a liability defensive pep like wait
what Like it's so emotional that you can't say anything.
So the best thing that could have happened is if
(04:49):
they had just stuck to their guns. First of all,
they shouldn't have come out and made a joke at
the first press conference, right, They should have understood read
the room a little bit, right, But they you know,
they should have said, Look, we were going in a
different direction. It's a lot of money to pay somebody.
We think his body, you know, he my body might
break down.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
We don't know.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
We believe this identity will help us win. That's the
only thing they could have done. Okay, here, and here's
what I'd say.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
I agree with you.
Speaker 6 (05:12):
But the problem is that there's there's absolutely nothing they
can say, because I would maintain, like, if you think
about the way Malika Andrews position that Nico did not say,
I think Luka Doncich's terrible defensively and his body is
going to break down. He said, defense wins Champion. Like
I think they're talking about the stuff that came out. Yeah, well, okay, again,
(05:34):
that's all like that's not Nico publicly saying anything. That's
reporters saying the Mavericks believe, you know. And that's that's
the problem with that sort of game, Like there's literally
nothing that Nico can say that the fan base will
be okay with.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
And that's why he hasn't talked.
Speaker 6 (05:52):
But and then he went out there and talked, and
he talked in kind of vague terms and everyone's like.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
Say, say, and he's like, I didn't say any.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
But also it's complicated because the return was so bad,
like that's probably the worst trade in the history of trading,
like in terms of the value return. And so there's
nothing that really can be said right, because that's a
problem itself, shortening the window by six years, getting an
older player, that in itself is problematic, not getting a
full return.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
There's so many problems for it.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
But unquestionably this Luca interview is going to hurt the
hearts of mass fans.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
Yeah, I think I like the way you said it there.
Speaker 6 (06:27):
There's there's so many problems with it that even things
that are valid, they can't be said right. They can't
because no one, you know, we talk about this all
the time. People have a reception strategy.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
You know.
Speaker 6 (06:39):
It's like they hear the things that they want to hear,
and there's literally nothing the man can say or do
that will justify it to anyone on the planet. And
so when he doesn't say anything, everyone kills him. And
then when he goes out and says stuff and he's
you know, it's dude, he's not like a dynamic public speaker,
so everyone kills him for what he says. And the
(07:00):
problem is the perception of the trade is established. Everyone
feels the way they feel, and there's literally nothing the
man can say. So killing him for not saying anything
and then killing him for saying something. That's just the
position the trade has.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
Put him in.
Speaker 6 (07:16):
Because the trade is universally hated except by Laker fans.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
It's like when it's it's summertime and you're like, well,
you know, I'm not gonna turn my air conditioner on. Like, no,
everyone turns the air conditioner on in the summer. It's
just such an obvious thing. And that's why conspiracy theories
about the team moving come up.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
Right.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
It makes crap like that easier to believe because the
trade is so bad.
Speaker 6 (07:37):
Did you see that Adam Silver stuff the other day
with Pat McAfee. Everyone's killing Adam Silver and he's like,
all I'm saying is it's not a conspiracy. We didn't
do this for ratings. Nico believes what he believes, and
he also said, I've known Nico a long time.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
He's a good person.
Speaker 6 (07:54):
But again, to your point, the trade is so poorly
received by not only maths but buy basketball media that
you immediately start making up crazy things to justify it
to yourself. And what I'm telling you is we've said this,
not just me saying this. Nico believes that Anthony Davis,
paired with Kyrie Irving, was going to win him a championship,
(08:15):
and he did not value the relationship between Luca and
the fans, and so he made a move that he
thought was going to bring a championship. And it's like, oh, well, wow,
this is how everybody feels. I thought everybody felt like
Brian Winhurst right right.
Speaker 3 (08:33):
The more we get, the more my nuts hurt. Yeah,
and I'm I'm avoided.
Speaker 6 (08:37):
All right, Mavericks Tonight, Lakers and Timberwolves start tomorrow night.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
Let's talk about the today game. It's fun. We'll do
it next right after this on The Eagle
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