DALLAS — All eyes have been on the Dallas Mavericks since the news of the Luka Doncic trade broke. For a minute, the fans' anger with the franchise was just a little quieter. During the first half of a game against the Houston Rockets on Saturday, Feb. 8, Anthony Davis began to dominate. Briefly, the trade started to look a little better in the eyes of fans around the league.
That is, until Davis went down with a non-contact injury in the second half. A trade that was justified due to the health habits of the Slovenian superstar lost all of its remaining merit with one wrong step.
Some small protests had been being held outside of the arena for days on end, but the situation intensified when majority owner Patrick Dumont said, “If you look at the greats in the league, the people you and I grew up with — Jordan, Bird, Kobe, Shaq — they worked really hard, every day with a singular focus to win. And if you don’t have that, it doesn’t work… you shouldn’t be a part of the Dallas Mavericks.”
NBA fans quickly pointed out one issue with Dumont’s statement. Shaquille O’Neal was one of the most dominant players of all time, but he was notoriously known for not taking enough care of his body. O’Neal himself has even admitted it on multiple occasions.
The Mavericks would welcome the Sacramento Kings to town the following Monday where the entire operation would unravel. The arena had some life at tip-off, but it was less than a sold-out crowd. By the end of the fourth quarter, in a close battle, even fewer fans remained.
The Mavericks kicked out multiple restless fans. At the mere mention of GM Nico Harrison, or owner Dumont, fans risked ejection from the game. At one point, when Dumont made his way to his seat followed Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson, the arena rang out with boos.
Minority owner Mark Cuban also got into it with fans. Two fans chanted “Fire Nico!” in the lower bowl, getting the attention of Cuban, who sat at his normal seat behind the basket near the Mavericks bench. Cuban stood up and looked at the two fans before mouthing profanities in their direction.
The restless fans, one wearing a Luka Doncic jersey, and the other in a T-shirt depicting majority owner Miriam Adelson in a clown nose, were promptly removed from the game. Cuban took to social media to refute the reported incident, but X’s community notes responded saying Cuban’s claims are verifiably false.
Each time a fan was removed, more boos were hurled at security and ownership. As the fans took their frustrations out, the team collapsed. Dallas blew a double digit fourth quarter lead, including giving up multiple game tying buckets to Sacramento before falling short in overtime.
Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd failed to appear at media availability following the game, going against league rules. General manager Harrison has still not appeared before the media since his initial discussion of the trade.
Dallas picked up a crucial win against the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night, where the stories of protest and unrest seemed to subside for a masterful Kyrie Irving 42-point performance, but the hurt is still there for Mavericks fans.
The Mavs will host the Heat for one last game before the All-Star Break on Thursday, and then hope to get healthy before returning to action Friday, Feb. 21 against the New Orleans Pelicans.
