Luka Doncic trade to Lakers couldn't be vetoed, NBA commish says

Fox News Flash top sports headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.

The Dallas Mavericks trading Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers was so stunning, that fans have been asking NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to veto the trade. 

Silver, 62, explained that he does not have the power to veto any trade during a recent appearance on Barstool Sports’ "Pardon My Take."

"The answer is no, believe it or not. There’s some confusion people have yelled out to me for some reason in the last week or so when I’ve been at games that I should be vetoing that trade the way David Stern vetoed a trade back in the old days and there’s always some confusion there," Silver said. 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver speaks before the Paris Games 2025 NBA basketball game between the San Antonio Spurs and Indiana Pacers at Accor Arena. (Stephanie Lecocq/Reuters via Imagn Images)

Late NBA Commissioner David Stern vetoed a blockbuster three-way trade following the 2011 lockout. 

The Lakers would have acquired 26-year-old superstar point guard Chris Paul to team up with Kobe Bryant from the then-New Orleans Hornets. The Lakers would have shipped out Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol. The NBA owned the Hornets at the time, and the general manager, Dell Demps, did not get Sterns’ approval for the trade. 

Once Stern found out, he vetoed the trade, but he was only able to veto that blockbuster because the league owned the team, not because he was a commissioner. 

Silver said regardless of the merits of the trade, he cannot veto a deal that he does not like. 

"I mean the way we don’t put a thumb on the scale, so to speak, when a trade comes into the league office, what our basketball and legal